On the Bathroom Wall
by Yee Mun
Summary: Post war, seventh year. The bathroom. A place where someone relieves themselves. It's also a place where gossip can be at it's hight. It can destroy a person's life, it could also bring two people together. What happens when... see inside
1. The Gossip

Disclaimer: I own the plot, but that's all.

Summary: Post war, seventh year. The bathroom. A place where someone relieves themselves. It's also a place where gossip can be at its hight. It can destroy a person's life, but it could also bring two people together. What happens when a bet placed on the wall leads Hermione to come to Draco's aid which means her entering herself into the bet. What if their acting helps them find true love?

A/N: Well this is an edited repost... there's not too much different.

* * *

Chapter One: Gossip 

Hogwarts is a place of learning, of friendship, and of growth. It's a place to live for seven years of your life. But, most importantly, it's a place of gossip. Everyone, who was anyone, knew that the fifth floor bathrooms were off limits to the younger students. It wasn't a standard rule, it was a rule placed by the fifth, sixth, and seventh years. The fifth floor bathrooms were a place to gossip. Everything was written on the walls. Filch stopped trying to clean it up, and the Headmaster found it rather amusing, and let the upperclassmen slide. So in both the boy and girl restrooms, there was all the gossip in Hogwarts!

Girls Room:

_Who's the hottest boy in Hogwarts?_

_Are you all blind? The Weasley twins are the hottest!  
They're not in this school anymore!  
Yeah they were really hot!  
I heard that they sleep together!  
No way! That's a taboo.  
STOP TALKING ABOUT MY BROTHERS LIKE THAT YOU SICK-O!_

_DRACO MALFOY IS A SEX GOD!  
Tell me about it!  
Hands of my boyfriend!  
Shut up Pansy, everyone knows he hate's you.  
I bet you, he would date me, before he would date you. Lavender Brown  
Yeah, bitch? It's on! Pansy Parkinson_

_Pansy: III_

_Lavender: X_

_Bets on Pansy:_

_Bets on Lavender: Pavarti 15 Knuts, Hanna 16 Knuts_

_That's not a real bet..._

Hermione rolled her eyes at all the writing on the wall as she washed her hands. She honestly didn't think either girl was Draco's type, but that wasn't really the point. The Head Girl sighed and continued out of the room.

Sure, Hermione Granger was not the prim and proper bookworm that she was in first year, but she still found all those other girls incredibly immature. The war had changed everybody and Hermione was no exception. She thought about how everything in her life was different as she walked to her Common Room. Classes had just ended and Hermione had taken a quick stop in the fifth floor bathroom before heading to her Common Room. She would have waited, but she had spilled ink all over herself in the last class and needed a mirror as soon as an opportunity arose.

The war had claimed few lives on the light side, much to everyone's relief. The two major losses that hurt Hermione the most were the loss of her best friend, Harry Potter, and her own father, who got in the way of the death eaters when they attacked her home. Ron and Ginny helped Hermione over her father's death, as did her mother. Draco, much to their surprise had come over to the light side, and vowed to kill who ever killed Hermione's father. Draco got his every wish when he faced his father for the last time. Ginny, Ron, and Hermione felt strange and empty, boarding the Hogwarts Express for another year with the loss of Harry. The war had ended over the summer, and the school was ready to open on time.

Hermione was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard a sickeningly sweet voice up ahead. She wanted to puke when she saw Pansy Parkinson all over Draco. She smiled, though, when she saw the petrified look on his face. As she got closer, she raised her voice to be known.

"Excuse me, Miss Parkinson, Draco and I have Head's duties to attend to, so if you could please excuse us." Hermione almost burst out laughing when she saw the look of relief was over Draco.

"Go find Weasley, Granger, Drakie is mine." Pansy glared, sure, they both fought on the same side, but Hermione and Pansy still hated each other. Pansy curled an arm around Draco and he brushed it off. She tried again and Draco pushed her off again.

"Get off of me, Pansy, I already told you, I'm not into bulldog-faced girls like you." Draco hissed trying to keep her slimy hands off of him.

"Pansy, fifty points from Slytherin for sexual abuse and detention with McGonnagal. If you push me any further, it will be detention for two weeks." Hermione said curtly, placing her hand on Draco's arm, guiding him into their Common Room.

"Thank you so much, Hermione." Draco said, taking his robe off, looking at the place on his arm where Pansy touched him with disgust. Hermione laughed at his childishness.

"Why don't you have a hot bath, and then meet me in the Common Room, and we can eat in tonight." Hermione suggested.

"Sure, but why don't you join me?" Draco asked, raising his eyebrows. Hermione rolled her eyes. Draco had changed a lot; he actually smiled and was really nice to Hermione and her friends. Draco would never stop being perverted, though. Hermione and him were very good friends by now, it was nearing spring and they had spent much of their last year studying in their Common Room together. Hermione was so used to his suggestive comments. Draco pouted and then smiled, when Hermione gave him a 'not a chance' look.

"Okay, okay, I'll see you in a bit, then?" He asked and Hermione nodded. She went off to take a shower while Draco readied his bath. The setup of the rooms was quite nice. There was the large Common Room, and then three doors coming off of it. One door to each room, and one door to the shared bathroom. In the shared bathroom was one two sinks and the large bathtub. Then in each room, there was a small bathroom with a sink, toilet, and a shower stall. So both could get ready in the morning and not have to worry about holding each other up.

Hermione also took a shower, though hers was much shorter. She needed the time to get a meal ordered. When she jumped out of the shower, she dried her hair and curled it, threw on a blue tank top, and her white, floor length bohemian style skirt. She went for the most comfortable clothing, things that were easy to move around in. She then left for the Common Room to order food. She called on a house elf and ordered pizza, Draco's favorite. This fact surprised Hermione, among much else she learned about him, when they had first become friends. Since then, Draco was one of her best friends. He was as important to her as Harry, Ron, and Ginny. Everyone thought that they would get together, even more so after they were assigned Head Boy and girl and were given their own Common Room. But it was early spring, and nothing had happened between them.

Sure, Hermione would admit that she liked it when Draco walked around in just his pajama pants at night, and Draco could never deny that he definitely liked keeping the Common Room warm in the winter, forcing Hermione to wear skirts and tank-tops all year round. But, both had yet to find their true feelings for one another.

By the time the pizza was ready, Draco was out of the shower, and in the Common Room. "Pizza, my favorite!" Draco said, smiling and sitting on the floor, at the coffee table, in front of the fireplace.

"I'm glad you like it," Hermione laughed and sat next to him, having already poured pumpkin juice for the two of them.

"Thanks for earlier, by the way." Draco grinned and dug into the pizza.

"No problem." Hermione could barely say through her mouthful.

"Do you know what's up with Pansy, and Lavender for that matter, they've both been trying to jump me since last week.

"They made a bet." Hermione said, she was planning on telling Draco after dinner, but since he brought it up.

"What kind of bet?" Draco asked, a bit scared.

"Well, they bet that you would much rather go out with them, rather than the other girl. The 'scores' are on the girl's bathroom wall, every time you turn the other girl down, they get one point. The only reason why they are scoring like that is because you never seem to be too interested in either of them." Hermione said, trying not to laugh at the look of horror on Draco's face.

"Can you help me?" Draco asked, after a few moments for silence, in which he sat, too horrified to eat.

"Sure, I guess we can just give them detentions and points off, see if that will do anything to stop them." Hermione thought out loud.

"I know Pansy, that wont stop her." Draco said, unconvinced.

"Well, their housemates are bound to do something, no one will enjoy the loss of house points." Hermione reasoned. Draco thought about it, and nodded.

"So, plan A's in action?" Draco asked. Hermione laughed and nodded. It reminded her of some spy show, she liked the thought. They finished up with dinner, joking and laughing, forgetting about scary girls who would complicate their lives, far more than assumed.

* * *

A/N: Well that's the first chapter edited. I want to get the rest up today, but I'm not promiseing them all to be up today. Well I hope that I fixed it all up! Shaelyn  



	2. Plan A: Failure

Disclaimer: I own the plot, but that's all.

Summary: Post war, seventh year. The bathroom. A place where someone relieves themselves. It's also a place where gossip can be at its hight. It can destroy a person's life, but it could also bring two people together. What happens when a bet placed on the wall leads Hermione to come to Draco's aid which means her entering herself into the bet. What if their acting helps them find true love?

A/N: This is the repost and edited chapter two, so read on:

* * *

Chapter Two: Plan A: Failure 

_Pansy: III_

_Lavender: XI_

As the week went on, Plan A _seemed_ to be working. Lavender had left Draco alone, after losing 100 house points and gaining two weeks of detention with Snape. Pansy, however, never seemed to learn. Slytherin was down all their house points, and had detention for the rest of the year, but she never gave up. She was going to lose Hogsmeade rights if she kept it up. Hermione was at a loss, though, she couldn't think of what else to take from the girl.

Draco, on the other hand, could never find any peace to think. His only safe place was the common room. Pansy stalked him at ever corner and jumped on him every chance she got. Even the teachers started to notice the strange behavior. Sure, Pansy always flirted with Draco, but never so much and never had she lost so many house points doing it. Snape himself was starting to get mad at the girl. Everyone in Slytherin was starting to hate her, more than usual, any ways.

"Oh, Draco!" Pansy cooed, as the boy in question cringed.

"Leave me alone, will you Pansy?" Draco asked, gritting his teeth. He had enough of her, she was clinging onto him every single second of the day, unless she couldn't find him because he was in his common room. When this was the case, she was even more annoying, if that was even possible, when she saw him next. Draco's head was pounding with a nonstop headache. If only he could just _shut her up_!

"I know you don't mean it, Drakie." Pansy tried to act seductive. She never seemed to get the hint! She took all his hateful comments, and used them to push harder, until Draco snapped. The stress this was putting on him could not be could for his health.

"Yes I do, now leave me alone!" Draco hissed, prying her hands off of his arm. "I'll take away your Hogsmeade rights." Hey, maybe he could turn her in as a health hazard!

"Okay, then you and I can spend more time together." Pansy purred, or tried to. No, now that he thought about it, he couldn't call her a health hazard. If he remembered correctly, many Slytherins tried to pull that one. They all said that they would lose their hearing or that their heads would explode. Some even went as far as saying that they would lose their eyesight, to her face. No, he couldn't get rid of her that way.

"That's it, no Hogsmeade rights, and no, I will not spend _extra_ time with you. I hate spending any time you at all!" Draco yelled, loud enough that everyone who was passing in the halls to hear. Sure, Draco was nice now, he learned that he could be nice and no one would hold it against him. There would be no more crusios, but he always had left a bit of his mean streak for Pansy. God knows that no one ever complained. She was a pain in everyone's ass.

As Draco thought of ways to get Pansy to go away, she started to fake cry. She was trying to start a scene, again, but no one paid her any mind. Since the bet started, two weeks ago, it was normal to see Pansy 'crying' in the halls.

"That's not going to work, Pansy, now get out of my way!" Draco yelled he really didn't like being mean to her, but Pansy really pissed him off. He would feel bad for her, if that didn't mean him losing his mind.

"Why? Why do you hate me?" Pansy cried extra loud, trying to get some sympathy from onlookers, but no one even looked at her.

_Pansy: III_

_Lavender: XII_

"Hermione!" Draco called. He had run as fast as he could, from Pansy, after she started to 'cry'. He was very glad that it was Friday, and all classes were over, he could stay in his rooms, away from the crazy bulldog that attacked him every other second. It was getting tiring, having to look around every corner, before continuing to walk, and _still_ getting jumped. He was very glad that Lavender wasn't as bad as Pansy.

"Yes?" Hermione asked, she walked out of her room, book in hand. She had gotten to her room faster than Draco, since they hadn't had the last class of the day together. She was just doing a bit of light reading, waiting for Draco to show up, hoping it would be a Pansy free afternoon. It would seem that it was not.

"Pansy just lost her Hogsmeade rights, now what?" Draco asked. He threw his bad onto the floor. He was really pissed off, that she wouldn't leave him alone. He placed a hand on his head, rubbing it, his head really hurt.

"Hear," Hermione said, waving her wand. She had gotten some training as a healer during the war. Simple things like headaches were easy for Hermione to heal.

"Thanks." Draco said relaxing a bit, now that his head didn't feel like it was going to blow to a million pieces any moment.

"No problem." Hermione said, then turned to her room and yelled, "Ginny, come down here!"

"What's going on?" Ginny asked, walking out of Hermione's room, note book in hand. She had her last class in a classroom right across from Hermione, so she followed her to her common room. She descended the stairs and sat at on the couch, note book in hand. She always carried around her notebook, ever since the end of the war. She had taken up writing poetry to let out her emotions after Harry died, it really did help her, she learned how to deal with pain and her hatred towards his killer by letting words flow onto paper. She set it to the side, looking up at Hermione, waiting to find out why she was interrupted in the middle of writing.

"The bet. It seems Plan A was a failure." Hermione said, glumly, as she sat on the couch next to her best friend. She motioned for Draco to sit, but he declined and instead, he paced in front of them.

"Well, we could expel her." Ginny said, brightly. She hated to see Draco this broken up, life after war was rough as it was, he didn't need all this on top of everything.

"No, we can't, we tried." Draco and Hermione said, in unison.

"Damn." Ginny smiled, good-natured.

"Maybe we could ask Blaise and Ron for help?" Hermione suggested. As if right on cue, the two boys walked into the common room.

"Hey Gin, I was looking for you." Ron said sitting down next to his sister, handing her a letter. "From mom, it's not very important." Ginny nodded and thanked him; she tucked the letter into her notebook.

"I saw Pansy crying, I figured I'd find you here. That and she making so much noise, this was the only place I figured would be quite" Blaise said, grinning.

"Well, you're right in time, we need your help." Hermione said, very thankful that their common room was sound proof, especially from Pansy, which was a hard task, even by magic.

"We need to get those girls to stop. This bet is getting way out of hand." Ginny said, she laughed when she heard Hermione mutter under her breath, "It's not even a bet."

"Okay, here's an easy solution, get bodyguards." Blaise said, grinning. Ron laughed at Draco's scowl.

"I do not need a bodyguard." Draco pouted. The girls tried not to laugh; he looked so much like a five year old. He didn't pout very often, but nine times out of ten, Draco wasn't joking, he really meant to act like a five year old, as scary as that was.

"It's that, or nothing." Hermione smiled, loving his reaction. Draco gave her the look of a wounded puppy.

"Wait, who will be the bodyguards?" Ron asked, a bit dense. The girls rolled their eyes, Blaise grinned, and Draco, Draco was in his angst corner, pouting.

"Us, silly." Blaise said, laughing, kissing his partner, Ron, on the cheek. They had been an open couple since the end of the war, Draco had always known that Blaise was gay and it was obvious. It was a bit of a surprise, though, when Ron came out and told everyone that he was bi.

"Plan B, then" Draco asked, pretending to ignore his best friends. He came back from his corner, and was acting mature, for once. He rolled his eyes in the direction of the cuddling boys. They were always kissing in public, he often yelled at them to get a room; he didn't have the heart to yell at them, after they just offered to help him. That, and he needed to keep his mouth shut, lest he destroy was little dignity he had left.

"Yup, Plan B." Blaise grinned, done kissing his lover. Ron was still a bit red in the cheeks. The girls laughed when Ron tried to look away, to hide the blush.

"Aww!" Blaise said, "You shouldn't be so shy." Blaise then got up, and dragged Ron out of the room, looking back to wink at his friends.

"So, when are we trying Plan B?" Draco asked, stair, dumbfounded at the portrait door.

"Not sure, I'd say give them a few hours." Hermione said, nonchalantly.

"Eww!" Ginny squealed she didn't need to think about her brother and Blaise needing an hour.

Draco chuckled at Ginny's reaction, and smiled to Hermione, he then got a book off the shelf, and waited.

* * *

A/N: Okay well that's the second chapter, I hope I catched everything! Please review! Shaelyn  



	3. Plan B: Failure

Disclaimer: I own the plot, but that's all.

Summary: Post war, seventh year. The bathroom. A place where someone relieves themselves. It's also a place where gossip can be at its hight. It can destroy a person's life, but it could also bring two people together. What happens when a bet placed on the wall leads Hermione to come to Draco's aid which means her entering herself into the bet. What if their acting helps them find true love?

A/N: Here's the third chapter, this is when the plot really starts to pick up and... why am I telling you? Just read it!

* * *

Chapter Three: Plan B: Failure 

"Never again!" Ron yelled, while he walked into the common room. Ginny and Hermione tried to contain their laughter.

Plan B: Failure

Blaise followed Ron into the common room and playfully glared at the laughing girls. Sure, having bodyguards _did_ work, but it did have its negative points. One might just be that if you were the human wall between the best looking guy of your grade and two girls who are competing, viscously, for his affection, chances are, you will get hurt.

"I like this bodyguard thing." Draco said, untouched. The girls started to laugh again. Both Lavender and Pansy had chosen to flirt with Draco, at the same time. When Ron and Blaise tried to push the girls away, they both rounded on the guys. They were on the same side for once! They humiliated them in front of a huge hallway of students.

Ron was the first to get attacked; he was rooted to the grown, while his partner was stunned. They both stood, helpless while the two evil witches took out their anger on them. The result was the pink and orange striped skinned Ron, and the... gender confused Blaise, who stood in front of them. The spells could last anywhere from an hour to days, and Ron made the point known that he would wait out however long it would take in the safety and comfort of the Head's common room. Blaise, who didn't really care about his... condition, stayed true to his, well her, boyfriend.

"Um, Hermione?" Blaise asked, after and awkward silence.

"Yeah?" Hermione asked, trying not to giggle.

"Could I have some clothes?" Blaise asked. His, no her, now petite form was lost in Blaise's baggy clothing.

"Sure," Hermione said, and Ginny giggled. They took the girl up to Hermione's room to find something to wear.

"What are they going to do to my boy- no girl- no- what are they going to do with Blaise?" Ron asked.

"Who knows?" Draco laughed and shrugged.

* * *

"So, anything _sexy_ for me to wear?" Blaise asked, winking. The girls laughed, and Hermione looked through her clothes. She was sure she had _something_ that he could wear.

"Strip." Ginny said, also looking for things for Blaise to wear. She too, knew that Hermione had some rather sexy clothes to wear. She would know since she had borrowed most of them at one point or another.

"I had no idea, Ginerva Weasley!" Blaise said, teasingly.

"Shut up, we need to see what size you are!" Hermione laughed and took out a few things that Blaise might categorize as sexy. "Will this do?" Hermione asked, throwing a naked Blaise a pair of dark green lace panties, and a green lace bra.

"Slytherin, I see." Blaise nodded his approval.

"Just see if it fits!" Ginny said, rolling her eyes. She had a pair just like them she had bought them when she was dating a Slytherin in her year. Not that Ron would ever find this rather secret piece of information. It had been a rather short summer fling, short as in a week, but still...

"Yes, okay, it fits." Blaise said, after Hermione helped him with the clip.

"Here, this will go nicely." Ginny said, throwing some clothes to Blaise. She pulled on the flowing black mini and the leather jacket, which she only zippered to just show the top of her lace bra.

"Nice." Blaise said, after checking herself out in the mirror. She strutted out of the room. The girls giggled when they heard Ron's gasp.

"Hermione, Ginny!" Draco called, amazed, and disturbed at what they had done to his best friend.

"Yes?" Ginny asked, sing song, ignoring her brother, if she so much thought about him and Blaise, she would hurl.

"What the hell did you-? You know what, never mind." Draco said, shaking her head.

"You know, I can turn you guys back." Hermione suggested.

"NO!" Ron said, wide eyed, putting protective hands around Blaise. Hermione laughed, Draco shook his head, and Ginny fake puked. Blaise just looked happy for the hug.

"Fine, fine, but I'll turn your skin back, and you know, the spell does wear off." Hermione laughed, waving her wand, so Ron now had normal skin.

"Yeah, well..." Ron started, but then closed his mouth, grabbed Blaise, and left the room. It seemed he just realized he would have a limited time with this newfound girl Blaise. He would have to put the time to use!

"EWWW!" Ginny cried, runny to Hermione's room, trying to rid her mind of terrible mental images. Draco just cringed, and turned for his room. Hermione rolled her eyes, and went after the younger girl.

"Ginny?" Hermione asked, walking into her room. She found her, with a book of memory charm spells. "Okay, put the book down!" Hermione said, taking the book away from Ginny.

"But 'Mione!" Ginny complained she rather not have those frightening images floating around in her head.

"No buts, we need to find away to get those girls to stop!" Hermione said, giving the younger look a glare. She didn't have time to deal with Ginny's revolting mental images she herself was trying to keep control of her own.

"Fine, but what left is there to do?" Ginny asked. Anything to take her mind off- she didn't even want to think about thinking those thoughts.

"I don't know." Hermione said, closing the drawers in her room that the cloths for Blaise were taken from. As she folded one of her tight, low-cut tank tops, Ginny gasped.

"I take it you have a plan?" Hermione asked, smirking. She could just see the light bulb turning on above her friend's head.

"Yeah, I do, come with me." Ginny said, jumping up, and dragging Hermione out of her room, and to the girl's bathroom.

"Are you doing what I think your doing?" Hermione asked a bit scared. She had seen the crazy gleam in Ginny's eye before it always meant no good for her.

"Yes, I am, but I need you to do the magic." Ginny grinned. She was dancing inside; this was the moment she had been waiting for, the moment to put her own plan into action.

"But-" Hermione started to protest; she knew she could never pull it off. She didn't even like him, right?

"But what? Just pretend, and I'm sure he would be more willing to be nice to you than those slut bags." Ginny said, turning to the wall, and looking at it.

_Pansy__ III_

_Lavender:__ XII_

"Just try, what could you lose?" Ginny coaxed the girl.

"My dignity." Hermione said, turning and waving her wand twice. She hopped silently that it would not work.

_Pansy__ III_

_Lavender:__ XII_

_Hermione:_

_(What happens in the Common Room, does not count.)_

"There." Hermione said. She was slightly upset that her magic _had_ worked. At least there was one rule set in place, the other two couldn't argue with that.

"So, 'Mione, what happens in the Common Room?" Ginny smirked and Hermione scowled.

"Nothing! It just means if he's nice to me in the Common Room, then it won't count. It will make the game more fair." Hermione said, flustered. She tried to hide her blush from the redhead.

"Sure, sure. But you know, all is fair in love and war." Ginny said, winking.

"Stop quoting famous muggle writers." Hermione huffed, stalking out of the room, a trace of a teasing glint in her eyes.

"I can do what I please." Ginny retorted, following her best friend.

When they returned to the Common Room, the girls went right up to Hermione's room without saying a word. They shut and locked the two doors that could allow other's to enter the room. Then they started to work. They mixed and matched clothes for Hermione to wear. Most were modest others weren't as much so. To Ginny's surprise, and amusement, Hermione approved the rather scandalous outfits along with the more modest ones. When they were done, they lay all of the outfits out, seventeen in counting.

"I think we did good." Ginny said, smiling. Hermione nodded. "I'm very surprised at you, you know." Ginny said turning to her best friend, laughing at the cheeky grin she got in return.

"You know as well as I that I have a bit of a bad girl streak." Hermione said, sticking out her tongue. Ginny laughed and nodded. She knew just what her friend meant.

When Hermione was younger, before Hogwarts, she had quite a big tomboy faze. She, of course grew out of it, and became more proper, hopping to clean up her acted a bit. Not that she had ever done anything _bad_, but she used to be a more tree climbing, mud fighting girl, that's all.

"Yeah, but I thought you grew out of that before we met." Ginny grinned.

"No, not completely, anyways, this should be fun." Hermione smiled. Just then, the girls heard voices from the Common Room. They were the voices of the boys.

"Hey Hermione, Ginny!" Blaise called to them, now looking like his normal self. "Here are your clothes by the way." Blaise said, handing then to her.

"Uh, thanks." Hermione said, not wanting to know what the hell was on them.

"So, do we still need a plan?" Ron asked, looking a lot happier then before.

"No, we found a new plan." Ginny smiled.

"Cool, what?" Draco asked, glad and hopeful that this would solve all of the problems he had been having for the past few weeks.

"Well, I entered the bet." Hermione said, more reserved and quite. She wasn't sure how the boys would react.

The room was silent; the three boys just stared at her. The two girls stared back. Things were going to start to get interesting.

* * *

A/N: I really hope that I caught all the typos (though my feelings are that there always is that one typo that escapes you, even in published novels) Please take a minute to review! Shaelyn  



	4. You What?

Disclaimer: I own the plot, but that's all.

Summary: Post war, seventh year. The bathroom. A place where someone relieves themselves. It's also a place where gossip can be at its hight. It can destroy a person's life, but it could also bring two people together. What happens when a bet placed on the wall leads Hermione to come to Draco's aid which means her entering herself into the bet. What if their acting helps them find true love?

A/N: And now you get to see their reactions! It was very fun to write the following scene!

* * *

Chapter Four: You What?

"YOU WHAT?" Ron and Draco yelled at the same time while Blaise just laughed.

"I entered the bet," Hermione said, more boldly. Draco sighed, shaking his head. But of course Ron kept going.

"HOW COULD YOU?" he bellowed.

"Will you stop yelling?" Ginny asked, rolling her eyes in annoyance. She really hated when Ron acted like this. He could be such a baby sometimes.

"Hey baby, calm down" Blaise said, wrapping his arms around Ron. Ron let out a small 'huff' and nestled into his boyfriend's comforting arms.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Draco asked. He didn't want her to do something for him that she didn't want to.

"Of course, I'm willing to do anything to help" Hermione said, shooting a glare at Ron when she felt that he was throwing daggers at her.

"I don't want you to do this Hermione!" Ron protested, trying to reason with his best friend.

"Ronald Weasley, you have no say in my life!" Hermione said, glaring at him through narrowed eyes. She really didn't want to get into an argument right now.

"You just can't enter the bet!" Ron yelled, ignoring her last comment.

"And why not?" Hermione demanded. Blaise was holding Ron back, trying desperately to reason with him while Ginny had a hand on Hermione's arm. Draco just stood there, dumbfounded. It had been sometime since the two had fought and Draco was still getting used to it since he had only seen it occur once.

"Because I said so and you should listen to your best friend!" Ron shouted. Nice comeback.

"You're so heartless Ron!" Ginny yelled at him when Hermione ripped out of her grip and ran to her room with tears running down her face.

"Come on, let's go cool off, huh?" Blaise suggested gently. A war would break out soon if he didn't get the two Weasley's in different parts of the castle soon.

"Come on Gin, let him go. We need to go check up on Hermione" Draco said, guiding the younger girl away from her brother.

* * *

"SHE WHAT?" both Pansy and Lavender screeched at the same time. They had both happened to be at the fifth floor bathroom at the same time. They had been about to get into a fight right there when they saw the new addition to the bet. 

"How dare she!" Pansy shrieked furiously.

"Draco would never fall for a piece of kiss-up trash like her!" Lavender agreed, also fuming. Then the two girls realized that they had just actually agreed on something. "I say we bring her down!" Lavender sneered wickedly. No one would take her Draco!

"Sounds good to me ... We can double-team her! Girl, I'm beginning to like the way you think!" Pansy smirked. No one would take her Draco!

"Deal!" Both girls said and gave each other a high-five. 'I'm still going to get this bitch though.'

* * *

"Oh my God, is that Hermione Granger?" Several whispers were heard from all over the school to which Hermione ignored completely. Her school skirt was rolled up high, she wore heeled black shoes, a blood red tank top and her school shirt was barely buttoned up. Her black robe was also tightly fit to her body, showing off some of her curves. Her hair was curled into ringlets and tied in a half ponytail with Gryffindor colored ribbons streaming out from it. 

That Monday was a bit crazy, what with all the boys flirting with Hermione, usually resulting in her hexing half of them to death. Not to mention most of the girls' plots to kill her, not including Pansy and Lavender. Hermione narrowly avoided being hit by several curses that would have given her warts, a bigger nose, and other unpleasant physical deformities. Most of the classes that she shared with Draco, Hermione made sure to sit next to him and while she was at it, as far away from Lavender and Pansy as possible.

"Hermione" Draco whispered to his partner in Potions.

"Mhm" Hermione mumbled, nodding as she continued counting seven hundred and nineteen pieces of newt skin for the potion.

"You know... I could help" Draco whispered in a husk voice, loud enough for Pansy and Lavender to hear. After all, they were sitting right behind them. Draco placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder, counting with her with his other arm around her waist. Both of them tried so hard not to laugh when they heard Pansy swear. Score one for Hermione.

"Thanks" Hermione replied, and gave Draco a small kiss on the cheek. He blushed, not expecting the kiss and Hermione gave him a sinful smirk. Score, another point to Hermione!

"What a bitch!" Pansy cursed, moving Hermione's seat quietly. Hermione hadn't noticed this as she started to take a seat. A look of shock crossed her face when she realized that there was no seat there to catch her fall. Draco, who saw Pansy push the chair and hadn't had time to warn her, quickly caught Hermione before she fell.

"Thanks" Hermione said, slightly breathless. This time it was her turn to blush.

"No problem. You should try to be a bit more careful," Draco said, pulling her seat out for her. Yet another point Hermione.

"I hate that fucking bitch," Lavender cursed. Hearing this, Hermione turned to Lavender and glared.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor for foul use of language" she said, very much her prissy, bossy self. She then turned back around and continued with her potion, being even flirtier with Draco.

"I swear..." Pansy started.

"Shush, we'll get her back later" Lavender vowed, glaring at the back of the brunette's head. "We'll get her back alright".

* * *

"Blaise, I really don't know what to do. What if she acts different around me now?" Draco confided to his best friend. Blaise looked at him, dumbfounded before he started to laugh. 

"The very day I see Draco Malfoy fretting like a school girl..." Blaise smiled, shaking his head.

"Blaise, I'm serious! You saw how she acted in Potions today!" Draco said, ignoring his friend's teasing glances.

"And in History of Magic! I mean, that class was interesting for once!" Blaise hooted.

"You saw that!" Draco cried out, blushing a deep shade of red.

"Yes, as did the rest of the class." Blaise nodded. He and everyone else, including Draco, was surprised when Hermione started giving Draco a sensuous massage during History of Magic. A massage for his upper thigh, that is.

"Damn, I was hoping no one saw that" Draco said as he blushed, once again.

"Don't worry. Everyone will be too busy talking about Hermione to remember that you got a major hard on." Blaise's smirk grew much wider.

"BLAISE!" Draco yelled, and his best friend laughed. "Oh, what the hell am I going to do?"

"With people's reactions? Hell, you're the King of Slytherin! You can handle them. With Hermione, when you see her in the Common Room just let her take the lead... see how she acts outside the Common Room. All is fair in love and war, you know" Blaise said, seriously.

"Don't be serious, it doesn't suit you" Draco said grinning. Blaise was right. He would just have to see how Hermione acted first.

"Glad to be of help, mate. Now to go persuade Ron into talking to Hermione again..." Blaise said, rolling his eyes. Draco laughed.

"Good luck with that" he said, smiling. He knew how much the two loved each other... it was just that Ron could be rather, how do you put it? Childish? Immature? And well, Blaise (although he was one of the most patient guys Draco knew) still had his limits. It would seem that Ron was slowly reaching that limit too.

"Yeah, thanks" Blaise said, with a half smile. And with that, he left Draco's room in search for his boyfriend with the mentality of a three-year old. As Draco thought about what Blaise had said, he stood up with a book in hand and walked down to the Common Room. Once there, he sat on the couch and propped his feet up on the table, one of Hermione's many pet peeves. If she came into the room and started to scold him like she always did, he would know that everything, in their private rooms anyways, would still be the same.

Draco sat and waited for Hermione to arrive. He could hardly even read the book he had brought down with him, he was so nervous. Draco found himself thinking back on that day, how much it had scared him. How much he had liked Hermione's kiss, her hugs, her touch... it really scared him. Did he like her? No, he couldn't. They were just friends. Best friends, but no more. He didn't want more than that, did he? Draco's thoughts where interrupted when the Common Room door opened.

"Hey Draco" Hermione called, walking into the room. "Feet off the table now! You know we eat on that, right?" Hermione said, rolling her eyes with her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, yeah sorry" Draco said grinning. 'Hermione's being her old Hermione self. That's a good thing, isn't it?' Draco thought to himself. His smile fell. He was happy, right? Even so, a small part of him was sad.

"Earth to Draco." Hermione said. She had caught the change in his expression. She hoped that she hadn't scared him off during the day.

"What? Oh, sorry." Draco blushed.

"It's okay. Oh great news!" Hermione said, gauging Draco's reactions. "Ron forgave me." Draco gave her a genuine smile, which satisfied Hermione, for the moment anyways.

"That's good." Draco said. He was glad that Blaise had finally gotten through to Ron.

"Well, I'm off to study" Hermione said turning around and walking to her room with a bit of a swing to her hips. Draco's eyes wandered down her body, unintentionally. "Draco?" Hermione asked, turning around.

"What?" Draco asked, shaking his mind clear of dirty thoughts that had previously occupied his mind.

"I'm going up to my room to study, okay?" she said again. Draco always answered her. She wondered what had him all caught up to not respond... it was very unlike him.

"Oh, yeah sorry. Okay. I'll call you down when it's dinner time" Draco said. He didn't even bother stopping the disappointment he felt when Hermione left the room, not swinging her hips. As he sat there feeling sorry for himself, only one thought came to him. "Holy shit, I really do like Hermione."

* * *

A/N: Well now that he has realized how much she really means to him, it's time for Hermione to get a huge smack of reality! I hope you liked it and I hope I caught all the typos! Please review! Shaelyn 


	5. A Fatal End

Disclaimer: I own the plot, but that's all.

Summary: Post war, seventh year. The bathroom. A place where someone relieves themselves. It's also a place where gossip can be at its hight. It can destroy a person's life, but it could also bring two people together. What happens when a bet placed on the wall leads Hermione to come to Draco's aid which means her entering herself into the bet. What if their acting helps them find true love?

A/N: Chapter five, the halfway point and the beginning of the real action! Enjoy:

* * *

Chapter Five: A Fatal End

"Draco, wake up! It's Friday, we have classes!" Hermione called up to Draco from the Common Room. The previous night was spent studying. Draco had kept a clear foot between himself and Hermione the entire time. Hermione was starting to worry that she really had scared him off the other day. Looking away from the fireplace, Hermione started to walk up the stairs to Draco's room. Half way up, his head poked out of the door.

"Sorry, sorry, I woke up late!" Draco said, calling down to her, "I'll take a quick shower and meet you down at the Great Hall, okay?"

"Yeah, sure" Hermione said nodding and then turned to leave. Something in Draco's attitude didn't seem quite right. But she would have to let him sort out his thoughts on his own. Hermione didn't want to poke into places where she did not belong. If it really were bothering him, he would come and tell her, right?

"Okay, I'll be there in ten then" Draco said, happy that he had talked Hermione into not worrying about him too much. He turned around, went into his room and shut the door. He had been having the best dream before Hermione woke him up. He had been the king of a castle with many children and many loyal advisors. But the best part of the dream, the best part was that Hermione was his queen. And the dream had taken place in the royal bedchamber...

Draco sighed. It was going to be a very long day. He moved through the pile of books and clothes in his room. He really needed to clean up the mess. Hermione would have killed him if she saw this. Hermione. He really needed to think about something else. Something different from her soft skin, warm brown eyes, her smiling face, her curvaceous body ... Draco shook his head, clearing all thoughts of her from his mind. 'I really need a cold shower' he thought to himself and with that, he headed for the bathroom.

After entering the room and closing the door, Draco quickly stripped off his pajama pants and boxers. He then turned on the water and jumped in. The shock of the cold water sent chills throughout Draco's body. He let the ice cold water pour down upon him. Quickly washing up, Draco looked down, forlorn; that he would have no time to give into his '_needs'_ this morning. As he stepped out of the shower, Draco took a quick look at himself in the mirror. He wasn't much taller since entering his seventh year at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. His muscled arms and toned abs where slightly lacking their former stature. He frowned at his reflection. Since it was his seventh year and a Malfoy had no great place in society's eyes anymore, he had dedicated the whole year to perfecting his grades. That decision had been the ultimate cause for his leave of the Slytherin Quidditch team. The lack in physical exercise was taking a serious toll on his former, well-sculpted body. Draco sighed and quickly dried off and changed. He wouldn't have any breakfast if he didn't hurry.

* * *

Hermione sighed as she finished up her breakfast. She was getting so many stares from all of her classmates. Ron, Ginny, and her other fellow Gryffindors, save Lavender and Pavarti, followed their Head Girls' lead, acting like nothing had happened. Many knew that both Draco and Hermione had come up with this plan to stop the two crazy girls who willing to kill for his affections. So as Hermione sat there sighing with the thought of the new day to come, her housemates did what they could to cheer her up.

"Aw, the poor baby can't deal without a man like Draco to guide her? I wonder how she will feel when he comes to me, to give his love and affection to me" Lavender cooed sweetly at Hermione with an evil smirk on her face. Pavarti laughed along, although it was clear that she was nervous. See, Hermione had grown a bit of a reputation for herself in the past year ... she was dreadfully scary when she was angry. And with the power of Head Girl, her classmates could only imagine what she could, or rather would do.

"Lavender, I would suggest you shut that ugly trap of yours and leave Draco alone. He doesn't like you or Pansy. You both need to get over it, because if you don't stop harassing him, then I will turn you in for sexual harassment" Hermione said with no emotion, not bothering to look up at the girl. She was truly fed up with the snob and her antics.

"Ah, but _my dear_, it is _you_ who is harassing him, not I, nor Pansy. And also, _my dear_, you can't press charges for such a matter. Such laws only exist in the muggle world." Lavender grinned; proud that she had knowledge over Hermione. Hermione gritted her teeth, hoping that Lavender was too dumb to realize that it was indeed only a muggle law. She stood, turning to look the smaller girl in the eye.

"_My dear_ it is in _your_ _best_ interest to leave Draco _alone._ Do I make myself clear?" Hermione was dangerously close to slapping the girl. Lavender was about to respond when she saw a streak of blond out of the corner of her eye.

"_Clear as day_" she said, so sweet, it made chills go down Hermione's spine. She was bout to retort when she saw Draco step next to Lavender.

"Is everything okay?" Draco asked, first looking to Lavender with distaste, then to Hermione with concern.

"Yes, everything is just _pleasant_." Lavender smiled at Draco, then turned and winked at Hermione. She took her leave, Pavarti at her heels. As she left, Lavender tried to swing her hips in order to claim Draco's attention. All she got was a hall full of laughter. Not only did she have no hips to swing, but also she wouldn't have looked any better with them. Pavarti walked out of the hall looking ashamed and hurt. Hermione almost felt bad for the girl ... almost. She was too pissed to give sympathy right now.

"What was that about?" Draco asked looking to Hermione, trying to hold back his smile when he saw how pissed she was.

"Oh nothing. Lavender was just being a _dear_ and letting me know that you would go to her with your affections and not to me" Hermione said. Some would say that they could literally see the steam rising from her body at that moment. Draco couldn't help himself, and let the smile grace his pale face.

"Now, now, you know that's not true" Draco said, pulling Hermione into a hug and kissing the top of her head for all the school to see. "You really do enjoy the attention, don't you?" he whispered in her ear.

_Pansy__ III_

_Lavender:__ XII_

_Hermione:__ XXI_

"Those girls really piss me off," Hermione said, hiding her face in his arm, gritting her teeth. Draco chuckled.

"Calm down. You know, everyone's watching us ... are you going to make a move or shall I?" Draco asked, grinning from ear to ear. That grin was wiped clean off his face, when Hermione stood on her tiptoes and French-kissed him in front of the whole hall.

"Guess I will" Hermione whispered back, pulling away from his hug and strutted out of the room. The hall broke out into noise and cheers while Draco went bright red, a color that did not compliment his pale complexion, by the way.

Hermione, on the other hand, kept walking to her class. She had no intention whatsoever of re-entering the Great Hall. No, she would need the time to relax and cool off. God only knows that if one more person said the wrong thing to her, Hermione would decapitate, defenestrate, and castrate them. Of course only if they were in fact male because it would be quite rather difficult to castrate a female. Hermione smiled as she mused over how to harm the next person who pissed her off. Though all three did seem a bit harsh, she was up for some fun. Hermione really was awfully scary when she was mad.

* * *

The rest of the day was incredibly slow for Hermione. She could hardly remember what was discussed in History of Magic after breakfast. She could remember, however, that Draco had not taken the seat next to her like he normally did. Instead, he was sitting with Blaise. She didn't' really mind. He had his friends to hang out with, plus, she suspected that he was a bit embarrassed about their kiss just minutes before the start of class. She probably shouldn't have done that in front of the whole school. Hermione had decided to say sorry to him, but he had already left the classroom before she had gotten the chance.

The next two classes after History of Magic, Hermione didn't have with Draco. And at lunch she was in the library, preparing for a Transfiguration test. So, needless to say, she couldn't talk to him during Transfiguration. After the test she had tried to tap him on the shoulder to get his attention, but he shied away from her touch. During Herbology, another class she had with Draco, she had tried to hug him but he wouldn't let her. At first Hermione thought that he was mad at her, but after studying his actions, she started to get the feeling that he was scared, but of what? Surely not of her! What had she done to him?

Upon seeing Blaise in the halls, Hermione asked him if everything was okay with him.

"Yeah, he's okay. He's just got a lot on his mind" Blaise said, trying to reassure the concerned girl without bluntly telling her that he _really and truly_ had a thing for her.

"Did I do something to cause it?" Hermione asked, still not able to get rid of that nagging guilt that had resided like a heavy rock in her stomach. Blaise studied her for a moment before replying.

"Yes you did, but that's not really a bad thing. Think about it ... you're a smart girl" Blaise said, and then walked off to his own class. Re-thinking Blaise's words, it hit Hermione like a pile of bricks. Draco _liked_ her. Sincerely and truly _liked _her. By the time our young Sherlock Homes discovered this, it was time for the last class of the day ... Potions. She would have to confront him then, but what was she to say? "Draco I know how you feel, but I don't like you back. You know as well as I do that I'm just acting-". Great, like that would work. She would break his heart that way and she couldn't bear to do that to him. She cared about him too much. Oh, like a sister _of course_! She didn't _like_ him like_ that_. No, she was his best friend. She only liked him like that right?

Hermione walked into Potions, her head was swimming with so many questions that she was starting to get a headache. Whispers of Hermione and Draco being in a fight had already spread all over the school. As she sat down, Hermione heard yet another person talking about what the two could have possibly fought over. Hermione was about to yell at them when Draco walked into the room ... and took his seat next to her. This sent another round of questions through Hermione's head. So how was she supposed to act _now_? Was she supposed to act like she didn't know, or maybe, like she liked him back? Wait did she even like him? Her train of thought was broken by a sickeningly sweet voice coming from the table behind her.

"Draco ... you know I'm always here to comfort you if you need it" Pansy cooed, batting her eyelashes. "You don't have to worry about whatever stupid fight you and that _whore_ got into," Pansy said, glaring at Hermione with complete and utter disgust.

"That's not needed thank you. And we did not get into a fight" Draco said coldly, turning around to face Pansy. His eyes were narrowed into slate grey slits. "And if you _ever_ call Hermione a whore _ever_ again-" Draco stopped when Hermione placed a hand on his arm.

"It's okay, ignore her" Hermione said softly, smiling then leaned in to give him a kiss. Pansy glared at Hermione and let out a 'hmph!' and flounced into her seat, folding her arms across her chests.

"Now class, today we will be brewing a healing potion. Now, I know we have done this before, but this one is much more powerful than the one we _attempted_ to make in your sixth year" Snape droned as he glanced purposefully over at Pansy and Lavender. The class started to laugh, but not for long.

"Quite down! Now, I will write the ingredients on the board then you may begin." The silence in the class was broken only by the shuffle of papers being put away and cauldrons coming out of bags. "And don't forget," Snape's voice was cold and cutting as spoke. "... The Wormwood that you will be using today is _extremely_ poisonous. _Be especially cautious, for_ one drop of this in your bloodstream could mean death for that ... unfortunate individual." The class fell silent for a moment then the students got up to grab the things they needed from the storage room.

As they sat back down to start brewing their potion, Hermione started to reach for the knife to cut up the Wormwood. Just then, Pansy got an idea. She lifted the heavy cauldron of hot water with her wand and poured it onto Hermione. In the confusion, Pansy grabbed for Hermione's knife, lifted her wand once more and placed a charm on it. When she was done, she set the knife back where she had found it.

"Pansy, one-hundred points from Slytherin" Snape snapped, glaring at Pansy. Oh, how he disliked taking points away from his own house, disliking even more the student responsible for doing so.

"_Nonaqua_" Snape muttered drying Hermione instantly and then turned back towards his desk, not happy at all.

"Thank you, Professor" Hermione mumbled, then reached for the knife. Pansy screamed with joy, on the inside.

"Wait, Hermione" Draco said, motioning for Hermione to sit. "I'll cut it up ... you're still a bit shaken up." Draco helped Hermione sit and took the knife from her. "Relax, okay?" he said. Hermione nodded, and started to stir the cauldron. Draco smiled, and placed a kiss on Hermione's forehead.

_Pansy__ III_

_Lavender:__ XII_

_Hermione:__ XXIV_

"Be careful, okay?" Hermione said.

"Wait, Draco, let me do it!" Pansy cried, when she saw what Draco was doing.

"We don't need _your_ help" Draco said sourly, glaring at the Slytherin girl sitting behind him.

"But-" Pansy tried, but Draco held up his hand to silence her.

"I don't want to hear it" Draco hissed and held the knife with a firm grip. Pansy cursed and stared in horror as Draco started to cut up the Wormwood. She was about to make another diversion, but it was too late. Suddenly Draco gave out a cry. He had cut his hand with the knife and Wormwood juice seeped into the cut.

Quick to act, Hermione grabbed the knife from Draco, transfigured gauze and wiped the surface of his hand to see how deep the cut was. It was very deep. Too much blood would be lost if she didn't act fast. Someone called on Snape while Hermione conjured a first aid kit out of thin air. She gently poured in a poison antidote while Draco gasped and bit his lip. Just then, Madame Pomfrey rushed into the room. She quickly ushered students aside and conjured a stretcher for Draco.

"Quickly, quickly now" she said, rushing the stretcher and Hermione to the Hospital Wing.

An hour of agonizing and waiting had passed. Hermione, and then eventually Ron, Ginny, and Blaise waited for the news of Draco's health. At long last, Madame Pomfrey came out, looking grave. "He's alive." The other's cheered, crying tears of joy. Hermione was the only one who did not look too happy.

"But...?" Hermione asked, waiting to hear the rest.

"He is alive, but only barely," she continued. There was a great silence in the room. And then Hermione broke down. Ginny, Ron, and Blaise enveloped her in a solemn hug.

* * *

A/N: Dun dun duhhhhh... Well atleast you can move right along to find out what will happen! The original readers had to wait for the next chapter! Please review! Shaelyn  



	6. Draco, I Love You

Disclaimer: I own the plot, but that's all.

Summary: Post war, seventh year. The bathroom. A place where someone relieves themselves. It's also a place where gossip can be at its hight. It can destroy a person's life, but it could also bring two people together. What happens when a bet placed on the wall leads Hermione to come to Draco's aid which means her entering herself into the bet. What if their acting helps them find true love?

A/N: This is the point in the story where is gets a little dark, not very much so, but... well you'll see:

* * *

Chapter Six: Draco, I Love You

"You can go in a visit him, though I will need to tend to him again soon, at which time I must ask you to leave." Madame Pomfrey said, leading the group into the Hospital Wing's private rooms. Draco laid there, eyes closed, looking peaceful as ever. He looked like an angel with pale skin and just the hint of a blush to his cheek. Hermione rushed to his side, pulling him into a hug, crying on his shoulder. Madame Pomfrey was about to make her let go of Draco, but with one look at the heartbroken girl, she instead excused herself to her office.

"Draco! Draco, please wake up!" Hermione cried. "I need you, please wake up!" Ron, Blaise, and Ginny stood helpless as their friend cried and cried. After a minute, Ginny ran to Hermione pulling her into a hug. The two exchanged tears together, Ron and Blaise kneeling down and holding both girls, all four crying together. And that's how Madame Pomfrey found them when she returned, huddled together next to Draco's bed. She was going to ask them to leave, but seeing the four, especially Hermione, so broken up, Madame Pomfrey left for her office once again.

By dinnertime, Ron and Blaise had left and Ginny was getting ready to leave also. Only Hermione stayed. Only Hermione watched over Draco. Madame Pomfrey watched silently as the boys, and then Ginny left, each hugging Hermione and kissing her on the cheek. As Ginny left, Madame Pomfrey bid them a good night and returned to the private room to ask Hermione to leave as well. When she entered the room, however, she found Hermione fast asleep, her head rested on Draco's hand and her arms around his waist. The medical witch sighed and levitated Hermione onto a conjured cot next to Draco's bed. She tucked her in, quickly checked on Draco, and left the room to retire for the night.

* * *

Hermione woke the next morning with the sun's bright, golden rays bleeding through the curtain in the private room. Hermione sat up, yawned and took in her surroundings. The room was small ... just big enough to hold a bed, her cot, and a medicine cabinet. Hermione slipped out from under the covers and walked to Draco's side. Her eyes were to dry to produce tears. She had cried a lot the day before. With all the shock and pain, Hermione hadn't really looked over Draco. Seeing him now with a clear mind, Hermione found that he was very pale, and through the night, it seemed like he had lost weight. Hermione reached out and tucked a strand on his blond hair behind his ear. He looked so calm, so elegant. Hermione jumped in surprise when there was a knock on the door.

"Miss Granger, why don't you head back to your room for a hot bath? It will sooth you, trust me." Madame Pomfrey suggested kindly. "I just need to run a few tests on Mr. Malfoy and you can come back in an hour" she continued looking rather concerned. It was hard to miss the dark bags under Hermione's eyes. She had hardly slept all night, worrying about Draco.

"After you run the tests, will you know how to cure him?" Hermione asked. She was not happy about being told to leave, but if it would help Draco, Hermione would leave for an hour. She was rather hungry, anyways. She had missed lunch and dinner the day prior.

"Yes, I dare say that the tests will let me know. I'll have _you_ know dear, that without your help, I'm not sure Mr. Malfoy would be here with us now." Madame Pomfrey said, giving the girl a look for praise, then turned back to her patient. "Come back in an hour, with Miss Weasley, Mr. Zabini and Mr. Weasley, and I will tell you all together."

"Yes Madame," Hermione said, turning to leave "and thank you." she said, nodding her head in the direction of the cot.

"Not at all my dear." Madame Pomfrey smiled, and then got to work.

Hermione walked the halls to her room. It was a nice warm day but she felt cold inside. A group of third years passed her, laughing about something. Hermione watched them pass and sighed. She hated feeling sorry for herself, but she still did. She knew that Pansy had cursed the knife and furthermore she knew that the knife was for her. If only she cold prove it. If only it was her who had been hurt and not Draco. As Hermione walked on, she fell deeper into her alter world a world where she had been cut instead of Draco. In her alter world, she was hurt and Draco stood by her bed, holding her hand. He was telling her that he loved her. As the shock set in, that Hermione wanted Draco to love her, she accidentally walked right into someone, causing her to fall.

"Hermione, are you okay?" Hermione felt someone help her up. She shook her head to clear her mind and looked to see whom the person was, but they were gone. She heard the voice once more, and her mind registered where she had heard that voice before. Her eyes wide, she almost missed its final words. Completely unnerved, Hermione walked quickly to her rooms.

"Blast-ended skrewts," Hermione mumbled the password and walked quickly into the safety of her Common Room. Disregarding all previous pet peeves, Hermione threw her robe on the nearest couch. Her shoes were kicked off and tossed up against the wall with a dull thud. Hermione made a beeline for the bathroom door, there in between her room and Draco's. She turned the gold doorknob and waved her wand to light the candles in the room for light. Quickly turning water taps; the large bath filled with steaming hot water, pink and blue bubbles, and assorted other scents and colors. She stripped off her blouse, socks, skirt, and undergarments and stared at her reflection in the large mirror, across from the bath. Now that she knew she was alone and safe, Hermione racked her mind for an explanation. Had she gone mad? Because she was so sure she had bumped into someone in the hall. She was even more sure when she had felt that person help her up. Yet, there was no one there. What was going on?

Hermione was pulled from her thoughts when she noticed that the mirror was fogging up. She turned off all the gold taps for the tub and slowly eased herself in. She sighed with pleasure as the hot water instantly soothed her tight, stressed muscles. She would have to remember that the tap worked well for healing. After adjusting to the water, Hermione swam a few laps to clear her mind. After relaxing for a half hour, Hermione decided it was time to get out and grab something to eat. She drained the huge bathtub and slipped into her room, wearing a soft, white towel.

Hermione used her wand to dry her hair and left it straight. She threw on a loose-fitting, black tee shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants. She took one look at herself and sighed. Draco would have teased her for dressing down so much if he were there. Draco. It was all her fault that he was hurt and in the Hospital Wing. It was her fault that all of this had to happen. What if it was she? Hermione's reasoning side fought to keep her from such a dark and dangerous path. Her alter personalities fought with one another as she reached for the doorknob to leave her room. She was yanked abruptly from her thoughts once again, but this time, she could see the person who had done it, and she knew that this person was real.

"Oh Hermione! I heard from Ron who went to see Madame Pomfrey about Draco. I promise we will all be there with you." Ginny took Hermione by the arm and led her down the stairs into the Common Room. There, on the table, lay a feast of breakfast foods and pastries. Ron and Blaise were standing by the table waiting for the girls.

"Come on, sit and eat. You need some food to keep you awake and thinking straight." Ron said.

"What Ron means is-" Ginny said, glaring at her brother for being so blunt.

"What he means is, we're worried about you Hermione. We know that you are a smart and levelheaded girl, but we also know that you have all the knowledge to try something rash. We just want you to think clearly before trying anything." Blaise said, pulling her into a hug. "We love you Hermione, we just want you to be safe."

Hermione nodded and pulled Blaise into a tighter hug.

"Thank you." She whispered and Hermione started to cry all over again. Not because of Draco, but because she was so happy to know that these three great people were here for her. That was enough to drive away all of her "What if..." thoughts.

"Now, enough with these tears. We're all hungry so lets eat!" Blaise said, passing everyone a plate. They ate in silence. Hermione was too hungry to talk and the other's felt that there was nothing that needed to be said. It was peaceful in the room for the twenty minutes that the four ate. When Ron was done (since he was last to finish) he stood and announced that they should be on their way to the Hospital Wing. The small, happy feeling that Hermione had, slipped away when she remembered that she was about to find out if Draco was going to be okay. Being with her friends and knowing that they loved her had helped her mind focus on other things so she wasn't feeling quite so down, but now it was the time, and Hermione wasn't so sure she wanted to know.

"Come on, 'Mione." Ginny said, getting worried by her friend's expression.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm coming, sorry." Hermione said softly, following the group out of the Common Room. The short walk was just as quiet as breakfast, this time no one knew what to say. Everyone was lost in his or her own thoughts. Hermione especially, kept thinking, "What if he doesn't make it through?" She knew that the others were thinking the same thing, although no one would be the first to ask. When they reached the Hospital Wing, Hermione went ahead of the others and walked straight to Madame Pomfrey's office.

"Oh good, you're all here. I just finished my examination of Mr. Malfoy. It seems that the antidote you gave him was not strong enough to fight off all of the effects of wormwood. I treated him with a stronger potion, but can't quite tell how far the poison has already traveled through his body. If he doesn't wake by tomorrow, I have to send him to Saint Mungos right away."

"But how is he doing? How do _you_ think he's doing?" Hermione demanded. All she was being given was a bunch of ifs and maybes! Madame Pomfrey paused as if to choose her words wisely.

"I'm not sure if he will make it." The older woman said, with defeat. She wanted to bring the young girl some sort of hope, but she couldn't lie to her ... she couldn't bring herself to do it even if it would have made her feel better.

"Thank you for telling me the truth." Hermione mumbled turning and leaving the room. Madame Pomfrey and the boys watched her go, feeling helpless and useless to the poor girl. Ginny, after giving them a very worried glance, went after her.

"Hermione!" Ginny called, running to catch up to her friend. Hermione turned and caught her friend's eye.

"I think I've finally lost it, Ginny. Under the pressure, I couldn't turn those thoughts away. I couldn't help it," Hermione stopped to wait for her friend to catch up.

"You don't mean that. You can't mean that!" Ginny insisted, following Hermione's movements with her gaze. She had been by Hermione's side once before. Once before when she had narrowly avoided death, but someone else had lost their life in her place. "That's one dark road of hurt, Hermione. You can't go through that again."

"I know." Hermione said dully. She turned her back to Ginny and looked out the nearest window.

"I assume that's not why you think you're going out of your mind?" Ginny asked, walking to her friend, looking up at her, her eyes piercing through the cascade of hair that was covering Hermione's face and emotions from the redhead.

"You know, you know me far too well." Hermione said, taking her gaze from the stars, to give her a sideways glance.

"Then what is it? What happened that you couldn't seem to say?" Ginny asked, analyzing Hermione's face. She was hiding something, and pretty well too. Even Ginny, who took pride in always knowing Hermione's emotions, was lost when it came to what the girl was thinking at that particular moment.

"I was walking through this very hallway this morning and I was lost in thought ... you know what I was thinking, right?" Hermione said, looking Ginny in the eye, brushing her hair out of her eye.

"Yeah, I think I know." Ginny said, eyes softening, she was sure that Hermione meant she was following the road of "What if...?"

"Well, I bumped into someone-" Hermione stopped and looked back out the window, this time to the grounds of Hogwarts.

"Yeah, and?" Ginny asked, slightly impatient with this faraway attitude that Hermione was giving her.

"And he said he was sorry and helped me up. I couldn't see for a few moments until after he helped me up. I think the tears were in the way." Hermione paused again; a small sad smile crossed her face. "But he was gone."

"Are you sure that someone really bumped into you? You know, sometimes when you're deep in thought you're rather clumsy." Ginny said, cautious not to offend Hermione.

"I'm sure. Something hit me hard and made me fall and I felt a hand grab mine to help me up. But Ginny ... Ginny it was Harry's voice I heard. I heard him ask me if I was okay. I heard it as clear as if he was right here standing next to me. And when I checked to see if anyone was there, I heard something else." Hermione's voice faded out and melded with the wind.

"What?" Ginny asked. She needed to know. If this really was Harry Hermione had heard, she _needed_ to hear what he said.

"He said-" Hermione turned to Ginny, with a small smile on her face, a true smile, "-he said, 'Tell Ginny, congratulations on the new boyfriend.'" Ginny's eyes went wide.

"I meant to tell you, I really did!" Ginny started.

"Don't worry about it. Listen, I really need to go somewhere to think." Hermione said, the smile falling from her face. "I'll go back to the Hospital Wing in a while." Ginny nodded, too dumbstruck to register that Hermione was up to no good.

"I'll see you there then." Ginny said, turning back to the Hospital Wing, too deep in thought to hold a conversation. 'It's all for the best though.' Hermione thought to herself. She didn't need anyone to try and stop her. No, she had made up her mind she was going to do this.

* * *

"Hey, guys?" Hermione asked. She had been in her room for an hour and the others were starting to get worried. That was until she showed up in Draco's private room. "Can I have a moment in here alone?" Just happy to see Hermione okay, the three agreed and not a single thought crossed their minds that leaving Hermione alone in her state of mind was dangerous.

"Sure, we'll wait for you outside." Ron said, getting up.

"I just want fifteen minutes, okay?" Hermione said, training her face to hide her nervousness.

"Okay. Well I'm going to the kitchens to get some tea, do you want me to bring you up a cup?" Ginny asked, following her brother and Blaise out of the room.

"No, no need. I'm not thirsty." Hermione said, just trying to get them to leave.

"Okay, then we'll be back in fifteen minutes." Blaise said, shutting the door behind him.

When Hermione was sure she was alone, she turned to Draco's side and dropped to her knees. "Draco, I don't know if you can hear me, but I have to do this. I know it's not what you would want and I know that everyone else wouldn't understand, but you have to understand. I can't live without you." Hermione said, tears streaming down her face. She took the hidden dagger out of her cloak. She looked to Draco again and took the dagger's blade right across her wrist. She took off Draco's bandage, placing her new cut against his forming scab. "Draco, I love you." And then, Hermione collapsed.

* * *

A/N: Again, you are so lucky that you can just read on! I know you might not review since you want to read the next chapter a.s.a.p. so just read on! Shaelyn  



	7. And All Was Well, Sort Of

Disclaimer: I own the plot, but that's all.

Summary: Post war, seventh year. The bathroom. A place where someone relieves themselves. It's also a place where gossip can be at its hight. It can destroy a person's life, but it could also bring two people together. What happens when a bet placed on the wall leads Hermione to come to Draco's aid which means her entering herself into the bet. What if their acting helps them find true love?

A/N: This chapter will start to wrap up things, but as you can tell by the title of the chapter (and the fact that there are 10 chapters and this story is complete) there is still more to come, but anyways, read on:

* * *

Chapter Seven: And All Was Well, Sort Of

Ginny paced in front of the kitchen's entrance nervously. Hermione's words repeated over and over in her mind the whole time. Why had Hermione heard Harry's voice? She was sure that that's what must have happened. She hadn't told anyone yet that she had a boyfriend. He had only just asked her out that morning after all. As Ginny mulled over her thoughts, her brother and Blaise returned from the kitchen.

"Took you long enough." Ginny said, glaring at the boys.

"Sorry! I was just so hungry and-" Ron started, but Blaise cut him off.

"Save it, I get the feeling that your sister doesn't care." Blaise said, with a bit of an edge to his voice. The constant bickering of the two, on top of the near death of his best friend was putting a toll on Blaise's patience.

"Sorry." Ron said quietly, this time all annoyance left his voice.

"Come on, it's been twenty minutes I'd rather not leave Hermione alone for too long." Ginny said, ignoring Blaise's comment. The stress was getting to all of them, that much was apparent. The trio walked to the Hospital Wing in silence. Ginny was the first to reach the door of Draco's private room. She knocked first and waited to hear Hermione tell them to come in. When she heard no one, panic set in. It was only a moment later, when Ginny opened the door, did she know that the panic was very much confirmed. There, lay Hermione, draped over Draco's body. Her wrist fell over his palm limply and scarlet red stained the sheets around them. A dagger lay on the floor, right next to Hermione, glimmering brilliantly.

Ginny sank to the floor and Blaise moved just in time to catch her. Ron was already out of the room, searching for Madame Pomfrey. When the medical witch entered the room she took one look around and sighed. "Somehow I should have known." The older women said. "Get back, and no, she is very much alive," the nurse said, turning to Ginny, who was trying to reach out to her friend. "Very powerful magic was done in this room, so it's best you stay out of my way or leave." And with that she got to work.

"But, I don't understand!" Ginny protested. With her own eye's she could see that her best friend had slit her wrist and the stained blood on the bed showed that there was far too much for anyone to have survived that much blood loss. Also, during the time of the war, Ginny had trained to be a magic seeker; someone who could detect magic in the air, when it was casted and to what level it was. There had been no magic in this room for some time and it was nothing as intense as the older women had led on. There was no way that there was any magic casted in this room, and Ginny could feel it.

"You don't understand dear, not all magic can be detected." Madame Pomfrey said, as if reading Ginny's thoughts. "Now I suggest you let me work, so I can save your friend's life." she huffed and tuned out the other occupants in the room. Yes, Hermione Granger was a very bright witch, but that didn't mean she wasn't foolish. Madame Pomfrey was beside herself. Had she known that the girl was capable of such magic ... well there was no time to think upon that now. It was best that she focus on making sure that both of them would be fine. To Madame Pomfrey's surprise and delight, when she moved Hermione onto her own cot, she found that Draco lay there awake. Very confused, but unharmed and awake.

"What happened? I feel like I was attacked by the Whomping Willow then thrown to the Giant Squid." Draco said groggily, trying to sit up. He had yet to see Hermione so his only concern was about what had happened to him.

"Well I would imagine that you feel rather well then. After all, you're blood just encountered Wormwood. And then to top it off, an underage witch just preformed a blood purity spell on you." Madame Pomfrey made an annoyed sound and Draco and Blaise's eyes widened.

"Who? Who would try something so reck-" Draco started, but then his eyes fell to Hermione who had been blocked from his view until Madame Pomfrey stepped aside. "She wouldn't dare," he whispered.

"Ah, but it seems she would, and did." Madame Pomfrey said.

"I don't get it. What's blood purity?" Ron asked for himself and Ginny. The two Slytherin boys paled.

"Well, in the old times, when magic was still young and may have been wandless, it was much like the magic Mrs. Potter had placed on Harry to keep him safe. There was a magic that only concerned pure bloods. It was the act of literally taking someone's blood out of their body, and replacing it with 'pure blood'." Blaise explained.

"The practice was dropped when seen as barbaric and it was not spoken of in public. Though, to this day, many pure blood families talk about those days with pride. At least, the Slytherin pure blood families do." Draco said making a face.

"So wait, you mean to say that Hermione took out all of your blood, and replaced it with other blood?" Ron asked.

"No, not just any other blood. Her blood." Blaise said, letting the statement set in for both Ron and Ginny.

"Now, she was much more controlled with her actions. Hermione simply took out all of the blood tainted by poison. Mr. Malfoy still has much of his own blood running through his veins." Madame Pomfrey assured them.

"What of Hermione?" Ginny asked and all eyes fell to the sleeping girl.

"She will be fine. But at her age, that high level magic should keep her unconscious for at least three weeks." Madame Pomfrey said, turning to Hermione to fix her sheets and bandage her wrist. "Now, I must tend to these two. Get out and get some fresh air, they are both going to be just fine."

Blaise and Ron sighed with relief and left, most likely to get some desperately needed sleep. Ginny was about to follow, when she thought better and waited from Madame Pomfrey at her office. As she sat there, her eye's wandered around the small room. She had been to the Hospital Wing many times, and not only for her own injuries. But even with all of her visits, Ginny had never really noticed the decor of the small office. It was just big enough to hold a small work desk and three chairs. The walls were stone and the room seemed rather unfriendly. 'How could someone work here for so long, and stand to be given such a dismal office?' Ginny thought to herself. She did notice, however, that there were a few pictures on the desk. One was obviously a family photo. In it, there was a father and a mother and two girls. One was Madame Pomfrey; she had no doubt about that. The other two looked a bit younger, and very much like her. 'They must be her younger sisters.' she thought. The next picture that caught Ginny's eye was a more recent one. It was a picture of a kitten sitting by the fire while Madame Pomfrey and one of her sister's played. And the last picture was of a young man.

"That's a rather old picture. It's of my husband when we were dating. He's left this world though, a very long twenty years ago." Madame Pomfrey said, startling the girl.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to stare it's just-" Ginny said. She hadn't known that the older woman was at the door, watching her trace the picture frame.

"No need dear, but I'm guessing that you aren't here to talk about the pictures on my desk."

"No, I had a couple of questions, actually." Ginny said blushing.

"Ask what ever you like dear, but there is no guarantee I have all the answers."

"Well, yesterday Hermione had come to me, telling me something strange. She said that as she walked the hall from here to her room, she was lost in thought and walked into someone. She said that it was a masculine voice that asked her if she was all right, then helped her up. When she stood, she looked around, but there was no one there. The thing that was the strangest was that she could still hear the voice. She swore it was Harry's voice." Ginny looked up, fearing that Madame Pomfrey would simply laugh, but instead, she was met with a smile.

"There are things in this world that have no answers. Even with magic, there are things that are beyond our understanding. Some would call your friend crazy. More would say she was blessed or maybe cursed with the gift of sight to the other side. Personally, I would have to say that Hermione has herself a guardian angel." Madame Pomfrey smiled. "Now off with you! Heavens knows you need the rest."

Ginny smiled and stood, she turned to thank Madame Pomfrey and left. On her way out, she looked in on Hermione and Draco. They were both safe and sound, asleep in their beds. Ginny sighed, glad that her worries were finally over. Now all she wanted was her warm soft bed.

* * *

A week had past since Hermione had saved Draco's life, and the news spread around like a raging forest fire. All of the school spoke her name with pride and awe. Even Pansy was grateful to her, though she would never admit it. The biggest surprise though, was when Hermione woke, two weeks before Madame Pomfrey had thought. It would seem that her powers were far beyond Madame Pomfrey's predictions. After Hermione was fussed over for an hour, she was left alone, with Draco a mere foot away, waiting the moment that he could talk to her. When the moment came, they both sat silently.

"Thank you." Draco said, out of the silence.

"No need." Hermione said, looking up from the place on the floor that she had found so fascinating just moments before.

"Why did you do that? It was reckless! I would never want you to put yourself in danger for me." Draco said, trying to understand just why Hermione would do something if she knew the dire consequences. If she had not died from the shear power it took to perform such a spell, surely she would lose her wand, her recognition from the war, her enrollment for the remainder of the year at Hogwarts and her place in the wizarding society.

"Did you hear what I said to you, right after our wounds met?" Hermione asked, her eyes falling to that fascinating spot again.

"I think I might have, but I'm not sure. It was too hard to focus on anything." Draco said. He was pretty sure he knew what she had said, but he wanted her to tell him.

"Well what do you think I said?" Hermione asked. She really didn't want to say and could feel her cheeks burning up.

"Well I think you said that you loved me." Draco said, his voice just above a whisper. Hermione's heart froze. He had heard her and now she didn't know how to act.

"And if that's what I said?" Hermione asked softly. She couldn't look up, couldn't bare the pain of looking into his eyes and finding rejection. Instead, Hermione heard him move from his bed and looked up to find Draco walking towards her.

"If what I think I heard was true, then I would tell you that I love you too." Draco said. Hermione just smiled and let the tears fall down her face. They were tears of joy and she let out the breath that she had been holding.

"I love you." Hermione cried. She pulled Draco into a hug, which also pulled him onto her bed. The two sat in each other's arms until- "Draco help! You're crushing me!" Hermione said, through her giggles. Just then Ginny and the boys walked in.

"It's sure good to see you two up and smiling." Ron said, wearing a big grin himself.

"Aww, did I miss the action?" Blaise asked, winking at Draco.

"BLAISE ZABINI!" The whole school could hear Hermione and Draco yelling.

* * *

"Good to see you back!" Sir Nicholas called to Hermione and Draco.

"Thank you Sir Nicholas!" Hermione and Draco said, calling over all of the noise in the Great Hall. The two had spent two full days in the Hospital Wing together, in which both were awake.

"Hey! It's great to see you two awake!" Terry Boot said, clapping Draco's back and giving Hermione a hug. "My apologies for hugging your girlfriend."

"No need, I don't mind as long as Hermione doesn't." Draco said smiling He had promised himself that he wouldn't overreact or get jealous if Hermione hugged a guy's friend.

"What do you mean, hugging his girlfriend?" Lavender asked from two seats over.

"Draco and I are going out, didn't you hear? I believe that means the bet's off." Hermione said, all smiled.

"We'll see about that!" Lavender yelled, stalking off to find Pansy. The other's laughed at of ridiculous she looked and kept on talking.

"Hey it's good to see both of you out of the Hospital wing!" Collin Creevy said, coming up to the group. What he did next shocked everyone. He took a seat next to Ginny and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Morning Ginny." he said, and slipped an arm around her waist. When curious glances where thrown her way, Ginny just smiled.

"Did I forget to mention that I have a boyfriend?"

* * *

A/N: Corny right? A lot of people thought I would end it there. First off, it's just not my style. Second, the bet isn't over yet and I still need to deal with Pansy. There are other reason, too, but I don't feel like listing them... Well anyways, review please! Shaelyn 


	8. The Last Straw

Disclaimer: I own the plot, but that's all.

Summary: Post war, seventh year. The bathroom. A place where someone relieves themselves. It's also a place where gossip can be at its hight. It can destroy a person's life, but it could also bring two people together. What happens when a bet placed on the wall leads Hermione to come to Draco's aid which means her entering herself into the bet. What if their acting helps them find true love?

A/N: And here comes the action:

* * *

Chapter Eight: The Final Straw

"That's it, I'm not giving up. I don't know about you, but I'm going to knock her off her high pedestal." Pansy gritted her teeth as she said this to Lavender. Lavender had pulled Pansy from the Great Hall to tell her what she had just found out.

"I'm not sure. I think this has gone on far enough. They're together now; I think it's time to stop. You did almost kill him." Lavender said coldly, glaring at Pansy.

"It was all that bitch's fault, not mine! And Lavender, keep in mind where your loyalties lie." Pansy hissed but Lavender held her ground. She stood boldly with her head held high.

"They lie with Hermione and the Gryffindors'. That's where they should have been all along." Lavender said. She knew that what she had done was wrong. She had dropped her loyalties to her house to side with an almost-murderer. She vowed that she would return to her fellow Gryffindors and she would beg for their forgiveness. And once she had them on her side, she would go straight to the Headmaster and turn Pansy in. Pansy, sensing that her guard was down, took out her wand. Lavender's confidence was broken when she saw that Pansy's wand was pointing right at her heart. She walked a step back, panicking.

"You are not going to turn me in." Pansy said her eyes black with hate. "If I get caught, I will do much worse to you then just a poisoned knife."

"How did you-" Lavender stuttered as Pansy jabbed the wand harder into her chest, thus forcing her to back into a wall. She was trapped.

"Are you kidding? You're easier to read than a book!" Pansy said laughed icily, trying to insult Lavender.

"Well, that must still be hard for you seeing that you're too dumb to read." Lavender said in retaliation. She knew full well she shouldn't have said that but she couldn't resist. She immediately regretted saying anything at all.

"Avada Kadav-" Pansy started, raising her wand above her head. But she paused for a moment at the look of pure fear in her captive's eyes. She smiled, quite pleased with herself. "Good, so will you listen to me now? You are loyal to me and me alone. Got it?" Lavender let her head fall in defeat. She was nothing short of ashamed of herself. She really was the worst Gryffindor in all the history of Hogwarts.

* * *

"Ginny!" Hermione called as she walked into the Gryffindor Common Room.

"She's with her boyfriend." Ron said, dragging out the last bit, bringing a crazy fire into his eyes.

"And what on earth is keeping you here?" Hermione asked. Whatever it was, she showed much respect to him (or it) for restraining himself. Ron glared at her and held up his wrists. He was chained to the arms of the chair he was sitting in. Hermione tried not to laugh too hard, for the sight of it was rather comical. On the couch next to Ron sat Blaise.

"Works like a charm." Blaise said, a huge grin from ear to ear. "In fact, it is a charm!" Hermione blinked and looked at Blaise's face, just waiting for her to laugh. And after a moment she did. Sure, he was corny and half his jokes weren't all that funny, but Blaise always had this way of making her laugh.

"I don't see what's so funny." Ron said, a dark scowl crossing his face. This only made Hermione laugh more, making Ron even more foul-tempered. Blaise just sat back, nothing but smiles. The rest of the Common Room just ignored them; even the first years had grown used to the group's teasing. It was nothing new to them by this point in the year.

"So anyways, where's Draco?" Blaise asked, diverting the attention away from Ron. Sure, he loved teasing his boyfriend, but he also knew that there was a point where Ron really wasn't happy and didn't find it funny in the least. Hermione sat next to Blaise before responding.

"He said he would meet me here. He had something else he had to do before, apparently. I wonder what's taking him." Hermione asked rhetorically. She was answered moments later when the Gryffindor Tower portrait door came flying open and everyone heard the never ending rant of the Fat Lady about respecting an old portrait. In walked a rather annoyed Draco. Before anyone could ask what the matter was, he supplied and answer.

"I hate Pansy!" Draco exclaimed to the general public. He even added a few colorful words that made some of the first years giggle. Others in the room just rolled their eyes and went back to their things. Most people had already heard this rant many times before. It's not like they didn't care, but it also wasn't like they needed to hear the next rant from their Head Boy. Draco, oblivious to anyone but his three friends was about to continue, but stopped when he spotted the chains that kept Ron to the chair. His eyebrow arched and he looked first from Blaise, to Hermione and then back to Blaise.

"Ginny's out on a date with Collin He was going to track them down, so I figured I stop him." Blaise said simply, shrugging.

"Nice." Draco said. He too felt his respect for Blaise go up. Anyone who could keep a hardheaded one-track-minded Weasley from achieving their goal... well, Merlin blesses them.

"So why do you hate Pansy?' Hermione asked. "... This time?" She added with a grin.

"Because she is simply unreasonable." Draco said with a pout, sitting next to Hermione. "She wants the two of us to meet her and Lavender to have a 'talk about the bet'. She doesn't want to call it off. I tried to tell her that I didn't want it to go on, but she told me that I had no choice in the matter." Draco said, the flame of anger coming back to his eyes. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"When does she want to talk to us?" Hermione asked. That was truly that last thing she wanted to do. Honestly, who wanted to talk to a pug-face like her?

"Now." Draco said, letting out an annoyed sigh.

"Fine, but this time we both need to be more careful. I know it was her who cursed the knife. I have no proof, but I just know she did." Hermione said, frowning. She stood and started casting spells on both herself and Draco.

"What's she doing?" A first year came up behind the couch and asked Blaise, eyes wide with amazement.

"She's placing protective spells on both herself and Draco." Blaise said, a small smile on his face.

"Are they doing something dangerous?" The boy asked, eyes widening even more, to the point where they resembled shiny dinner plates. This time Blaise chuckled.

"They're going into the lair of The Beast. It's a horrid, ugly, stupid creature. We don't like to say it, but it's called Pansy Parkinson." Blaise said, grimacing dramatically. Everyone in the room laughed, with exception to Hermione and Draco who were too deep in thought to even hear what Blaise had said.

"Why do they need the protection?" The first year continued. "I heard that they were the best witch and wizard of the war!"

"Because," Blaise's grin widened, "rumor has it that The Beast got poison daggers for her birthday." The younger boy's were so wide at this point they looked like they were about to pop out of his head. "But not to worry, Hermione and Draco can take care of themselves." Blaise's grin turned into a comforting smile.

"If she wants to play dirty, so can I." Hermione said. She had finished her spells, and bent down to lift the hem of her floor length forest green skirt. Everyone close by could see that her knee high black leather boots had a built in wand holder. Those even closer could just make out a metal point coming from another rather well hidden holder. "I have toys of my own you know." Hermione said, smiling a dangerous smile.

"Mate, never get on her bad side." Blaise advised in a whisper. "She was trained in martial arts and weapons when she was younger. Not many people know that."

"And I would rather it stay that way." Hermione said, glaring at the boy.

"You never know. She just might have to uh ... eliminate everyone who knows." Draco said. He too was done with casting spells, his attention now turned to the little boy. When he saw his eye's go wider, if that was possible, Draco just smirked, his eyes glimmering mischievously. "But don't worry. She doesn't hurt anyone as young as you. It's a shame that Blaise and Ron here aren't under protection of her morality."

"Don't worry, if I killed those who knew, then the person who told you wouldn't be alive, now would they?" Hermione asked, reassuring the younger boy. When she was sure that the boy was okay, she motioned to Draco. "Come on, let's go show her that she can't mess with us."

* * *

"You know, I had always wondered why you took Muggle Fighting classes." Draco commented as he and Hermione walked the halls to meet with Pansy.

"I want to know everything in the world and I've always been like that. Even when I was younger, I went through phases of what I really wanted to learn about. At one point, it was the culture of Asia.

"I begged my parents to let me take courses in martial arts and even Asian weapons the summer after our first year in Hogwarts. I became rather good and my teacher wanted me to travel to this huge contest in the States, but to do that I wouldn't be able to return here. Well it would seem that the chance I turned down was my last. I have no teacher and so I have no way of entering. My sensei, that means teacher in Japanese, passed away shortly after." Hermione said telling Draco the story with a sad look in her eyes.

"I'm sorry about your teacher and all." Draco said finally. Even though they had been best friends for a good year and they were now going out, Hermione still had so many mysteries and secrets hidden from him. He gave her a one-arm hug as they walked on.

"It's okay. I still train on my own, and I know that once I get out of Hogwarts, I might have that chance again." Hermione said, a bright smile full of hope on her face. Draco smiled and nodded. It seemed that Ginny's optimism was rubbing off on her, and it was truly a good thing.

They walked the rest of the way in silence, lost in their own private thoughts. They came to the seventh floor in a long, seemingly forgotten, hallway. The only door was down at the very end. When they came up to that door, Draco was the first to speak. "This is the place-" Hermione held up her hand quickly to silence him. She pressed her ear to the door and heard nothing, 'Sound proof' she thought. Then she turned her focus toward the door hinges. She smiled when she saw that the door opened out, towards them. Getting in without getting hurt seemed easier and easier by the minute. When she was done checking the surroundings, Hermione motioned to Draco.

"Okay, here's the plan. On my mark, we'll each open one door. They open out, so we can hide behind them if Pansy tries to hurt us, by wand or dagger ... I'm not sure which." Hermione said and Draco nodded. They both took hold of a door handle and Hermione turned to nod to Draco. They both pulled with all their might. As they did, two daggers were launched right where they would be standing if they had not jumped out of the way behind the doors. "Now that you got that out of your system, can we come in to talk?"

"Fine, I won't hurt you-" Pansy said "... yet." Hermione and Draco walked into the room cautiously. The first thing that Hermione noticed were two devices that had obviously shot the daggers and not Pansy. That just made her grin. It took Hermione's eagle eyes a moment to find Pansy in the dark, unused classroom. When she did spy the girl lurking in the shadows, Pansy stepped out and flicked her wand. The doors closed and locked right behind them. "I would have thought better from a war tactics officer." Pansy sneered wickedly.

Hermione ignored her and instead took in her surroundings. She had known that this would have happened. She checked for other places that she might be able to run to if need be. There were no windows and the room was a classic rectangle. There were no places to run. 'Wait a second.' Hermione then noticed a door in the darkest corner. Hermione walked cautiously over to the opposite side of the room from the door and sat with her legs crisscrossed on top of one of the desks. She was sure that the holders in her boots were easy to reach.

"Oh Pansy, you don't need to worry about me." Hermione said, smiling nice and sweet. "Where's Lavender?"

It was Pansy's turn to smile. She flicked her wand and Hermione prepared to whip out her own. But instead of having a curse thrown at her or Draco, the 'hidden' door flew open and out fell Lavender, bound by ropes and gagged. With another flick of her wand, Lavender was un-gagged, levitated to a chair next Pansy and tied tightly to the back of it. "Oh Draco come, sit." Pansy said sweetly, motioning to another seat. Draco nodded grimly and took it. "So now that we're all here, let's talk."

"There's nothing to talk about. I want this bet stopped!" Draco yelled suddenly.

"Now Draco, let's play nicely shall we?" Pansy said, reaching for a third dagger from her belt and pointing it at Lavender's throat. "We don't want anything unfortunate to happen." Hermione had made sure to see if there were any another blades hidden, but as far as she could see, this was the last one. If she could get Pansy up against the wall, Hermione could stick her there with her ninja stars. As if he had read her mind, Draco stood up and gave Pansy an offer.

"If you just put down that dagger, I'll duel with you. The winner can call off the bet if they want to," Draco said and drew his wand. Hermione smiled to herself as she watched the two get right at it. She could tell that Draco was going easy on her. As they shot curse after curse at each other, bright colors flying through the air, Draco slowly backed her up against the wall. Right when he had her in the perfect spot, Hermione took out all of her ninja stars and jumped off the desk.

"Draco!" Hermione called and he shifted to the side giving her the perfect shot. With one swift move, Hermione had Pansy pinned to the wall with five ninja stars, two in each shirtsleeve and one clipping her hair to the wall.

"That wasn't fair, you cheated!" Pansy screamed furiously, but she didn't dare move. If she moved her head, even just slightly, her hair would rip free and the star would fall and pierce her head.

"Agree to end the bet and I just might consider not going to the Headmaster charging you for attempted and premeditated murder." Hermione said. She was sitting down again, her legs crossed.

"No. Never! You have to win it, and you know that means getting fifty points!" Pansy said through gritted teeth. She tore her head away to lunge at Hermione, but in the process, the ninja star started to fall. Lavender eyes widened and she sat still in her chair. Draco too, was in a moment of shock and couldn't react. Pansy couldn't move the rest of her body and waited for the end to come. Only Hermione could stop the worst from happening...

* * *

A/N: Another not so cliff hanger for you guys now, just imagen having ot wait for the next chapter. Well what are you doing realing this, just go to the next chapter! Shaelyn  



	9. Do Or Die

Disclaimer: I own the plot, but that's all.

Summary: Post war, seventh year. The bathroom. A place where someone relieves themselves. It's also a place where gossip can be at its hight. It can destroy a person's life, but it could also bring two people together. What happens when a bet placed on the wall leads Hermione to come to Draco's aid which means her entering herself into the bet. What if their acting helps them find true love?

A/N: This is the second to last chapter, I bet you are wondering what Hermione did...

* * *

Chapter Nine: Do or Die

The ninja star seemed to fall in slow motion as Hermione quickly jumped off her desk. She took a starting leap, jumping onto the next desk, and sprang into the air. She was suspended in midair, arm outstretched as she watched the star continue to fall. At the last second, Hermione grabbed the ninja star with two fingers right before it pierced Pansy's head. Hermione landed lightly on her feet, right in front of Pansy who looked rather shaken.

"I'll let you out unharmed if you don't turn me in, but I don't really care 'cause if you do, you have no proof anyways." Pansy said. Her face was filled with false hatred that was obviously covering the fear from her close encounter with death.

"Now you know how I felt when Draco was so close to perishing." Hermione said emotionlessly while removing the ninja stars from Pansy's torn robes. "The bet will go on I'm sure, but you guys can't win now that I'm with Draco."

"Don't get so cocky, bitch!" Pansy spat, her wand rose since her arms were now free. She flicked her wrist and opened the door to the room. With another flick to her left, Lavender was set free, the bonds falling limply to the ground. The Slytherin girl glared at Hermione before sending Lavender an all-knowing glance.

"Come on Lavender, let's get out of here." Draco said, helping the scared and shivering girl to her feet.

_Pansy__ III_

_Lavender:__ XIII_

_Hermione:__ XXVI_

"What were the rules of the bet?" Hermione asked. She knew Lavender had just gotten a point and somehow the three girls always knew the scores. It was strange, really, that the magic worked in such a way.

"I gained a point because Draco was nice to me. The rules were that he simply had to be nice to us. Kisses and such were also only one point. Besides that rule, everything is really fair game." Lavender explained. She was the first to leave the room, the two others right at her heels. "I don't ever want to be in that room ever again." She said with a shudder.

"Why are you still in the bet?" Hermione asked curiously. She was sure that Gryffindor loyalties would have shown their presence by now...?

"Because," Lavender said with a sigh, remembering Pansy's threat. "I want to be." And with that, the girl walked quickly down the hall and out of sight.

"What was that all about?" Draco asked. He was beginning to believe that he would never understand girls.

"Pansy threatened her, I bet." Hermione said watching Lavender until she rounded a corner. The pair had started walking again but Hermione stopped suddenly when she heard a noise from behind them. She turned and saw that there was no longer a door at the end of the hallway. "Of course! The Room of Requirement!" Hermione exclaimed with a light blush, feeling a bit stupid.

"So, you mean we could have wished for an exit and gotten it?" Draco asked, also chiding himself mentally. He shook his head and took Hermione's hand as they continued down the hall.

"Yeah, I guess so." Hermione said becoming lost in thought and letting Draco guide her back to the Gryffindor Common Room. At least now she knew where Pansy had gotten the dagger launchers. She knew that Pansy couldn't possibly be smart enough to make one of her own. When they entered the Common Room, they saw Lavender reading in the corner alone, pretending not to see them.

"Hey mate! What happened?" Blaise asked, walking up to Draco and Hermione. Hermione shook away her thoughts and answered for Draco.

"Not here. Come to our rooms and we'll explain." Hermione said in a hushed voice. She had a feeling that Pansy was using Lavender as a spy.

"Oh okay." Blaise said cocking his head to the side, wondering why Hermione was being so cautious. "Let me get Ron and Ginny too." And with that, Blaise left them; first to go up to Ron's room to get him and then up to Ginny's to get her.

"Funny how he can go up the girl's staircases." Hermione said to Draco and he laughed in response.

"Guess the magic in the staircase knows that he had no interest in girls." Draco supplied.

* * *

"Okay, everyone is here, so you better dish." Blaise said. The five sat in the Head Boy and Head Girl's Common Room, gathered around to hear the story. Blaise was lying down on the couch waiting eagerly to hear the story while Ron and Ginny sat on the floor. Hermione and Draco sat in the love seat, naturally.

"Okay, well, I know you all know about the bet. And we all know that the point was to see whom Draco would ask out first. So, now that Draco and I are going out, we figured that that would end the bet. But then there's that stupid points system-" Hermione went on to explain what had happened in the Room of Requirement and how she felt that Lavender was being threatened into staying on Pansy's side. When she was done, the whole room was silent. Ginny was the first to speak up.

"Wait, I don't get it. Now that you and Draco are going out, wouldn't it be easier for you to get the rest of your points?" Ginny asked, confused.

"Well first off, the point system is botched. Hermione only got one point when I asked her out, and she only got one point for saving my life!" Draco said knowing that Hermione should have gotten a lot more points than she did.

"That, and kissing and hand holding doesn't seem to give me any points, not that I would stop because of that." Hermione said, the last part causing her to form a grin.

"Well, maybe if you did something big and showy, like making out in the hallways, then it will work." Ron suggested, completely serious.

"I'd rather not. Not in public, at least." Hermione said. Then she got an idea. "I think the problem is that people have to actually notice that we're kissing and holding hands, but since everyone knows that we're going out, they look over it, so it doesn't count."

"I'm guessing if we notice it also doesn't count." Blaise said, looking a little peeved. He really hated all these rules that Pansy put up to stop the couple from just ending the madness.

"Yeah, basically." Draco said, glumly, but then he too got an idea. "Wait a minute, we have a month left of school, right?" The other's nodded, curious to see where he was going with this.

"Let's plan an end of the year ball. We'll announce it during dinner." Draco said. "I'll take the first dance with my Head Girl. That surely is something the whole school will see ... we could get points from that!"

"Great idea Draco!" Ginny exclaimed enthusiastically. Hermione laughed because she was sure that her friend had just really wanted a ball.

"Then it's settled. We'll have to start now. It can be something special from just you and me so we won't need to get all the prefects involved. But of course," Hermione said looking to her friends, "you guys can help if you want."

So, the five spent the remaining two hours before dinner planning the best ball that Hogwarts would ever see.

* * *

"And now we have an exciting surprise from our Head Boy and Head Girl." Headmistress McGonagall said loudly after her usual before dinner announcements. Draco and Hermione stood from their seats at their respective tables.

"Thank you." Hermione said with a nod, smiling toward the Headmistress. "Mr. Malfoy and I would like to announce that in two weeks time, there will be an end of year ball in this very hall." Hermione stopped and smiled when the hall irrupted in cheers and everyone started to talk over each other. Draco chuckled and then spoke over the crowd.

"This weekend will be a special Hogsmeade weekend. This is so everyone will have a chance to get his or her outfit with such short notice. Thank you." Draco and Hermione left the front of the hall and sat back down. Everyone in the Great Hall was talking about the surprise that the Head Boy and Girl had given them. Ask anyone and they would all say that Draco and Hermione were the best Head Boy and Girl in Hogwarts history.

"This ought to be interesting." Ron said, leaning over to his boyfriend. Blaise just laughed and nodded in agreement.

In the following days, the students of Hogwarts were in good cheer. Even the teachers suspended classes in light of the up and coming ball. That and the fact that none of the teachers were really up to teaching students who had their minds elsewhere. Draco, Hermione, and their other four friends spent most of the time in the private Common Room of the Head Boy and Head Girl, or out by the lake where they knew that they wouldn't be bothered. The planning of the ball took much time and there were even a few arguments. It seemed no one could agree on how the room should be decorated. One of them wanted the theme to be a faerie rose garden; another suggested a Roman theme with stone pillars and statues of Gods and Goddesses.

The first week flew by very fast and soon the group found themselves at Hogsmeade. They agreed to split up so the girls could go find their dresses and surprise the boys the night of the ball. They walked down a ways until they came upon a small shop that didn't seem crowded with girls looking for dresses, too.

"Hello, and welcome to Adeline's Boutique. How can I help you?" A young witch said coming from behind the counter, which was to the girl's left. She was about 5'2'', with long, blonde, waist length hair. Her eyes were a striking blue and her appearance charming. She wore normal wizarding robes the only difference being that they were a nice light blue.

"Hi! We're looking for dresses for our school's ball." Ginny said, walking a little farther into the shop taking a quick look around. Hermione followed her in.

It was obvious that there had been magic placed on the shop since it was much larger than the outside had suggested. The store was a single, large room with racks and racks of dresses. Hermione was amazed at the amount. There were dresses in every style, color, and size. In the back, Hermione noticed a few changing rooms.

"Do you make all of these?" Hermione asked, in awe. The young woman smiled.

"No, not all of them. I make the children's dresses. My mother and grandmother make the others. I've just started making dresses myself." Hermione smiled and nodded, still amazed. "Is there a special kind of dress that you're looking for?"

"No, we were sort of hoping that you could help us." Ginny asked a bit sheepishly.

"Sure, but I have to say that my mother is much better at those sort of things." The girl said, and then led them to the back. She quickly took their measurements. "Wait here and I will bring some dresses too you." The two girls nodded and entered one of the bigger dressing rooms. They had both agreed that the other would have to approve the dress, too. She came back with two dresses for each girl. She then excused herself to the front where another person had just walked in.

Hermione and Ginny got undressed and each tried on the first dress that they were handed. It was a bit obvious right off the bat that these were _not_ the dresses that they had in mind. Ginny stood wearing a floor length, bright orange ball gown with giant, poofy sleeves and all. The underskirt was veil-like and extremely itchy. Ginny laughed and made a face, then turned to see how Hermione was doing. Hermione, too, wasn't very fond of her dress. Her dress was at her knee lengthen with a very low v-cut neck. It was a shockingly bright red that clashed horribly with her skin tone and hair color. It too had very poofy sleeves. Both girls just nodded no simultaneously to the other and turned to try on the next dress.

Hermione was rather pleased with her second dress. It fell to the floor like she preferred, and the neckline was low, but still high enough to be modest. The only problem was the color. It was a horrid shade of plum. Otherwise, she really liked it. Ginny, too, liked the second dress better. The color was more of what she was looking for. It was a nice deep red which would perfectly match the earrings she was planning on wearing. The only problem was that the dress she had on now was way too lacy. She preferred a dress that was a bit plainer.

"I think we should go look for dresses on our own, now that we have a better idea of what we want." Hermione said, and Ginny nodded. The two changed back into their robes and headed out into the main room. The young girl was by their side, instantly. With her was a woman who looked in her mid forties.

"Well? What did you think?" The young girl seemed quite anxious. Hermione got the feeling that the older woman was her mother, so she chose her words wisely.

"I don't think these were quite the ones we were thinking of, but they are very finely made. Also, they helped me have a better idea of what I want." Hermione said with a grateful smile. But her look of gratitude changed to one of concern when she saw the look of distaste that the mother gave her daughter.

"Tu es inutile." The older woman said, looking down at the young girl.

"Non, elle était trés serviable." Hermione said assumingly and turned to put her dresses away. Ginny tried not to laugh at the shocked look on the older woman's face.

"I think we're just going to look around on our own." Ginny said and followed Hermione into the racks of dresses. "That was bloody brilliant." Ginny whispered.

"I just felt so bad for that girl. I'm glad I learned French when I was younger." Hermione said as the two fingered through the hundreds of dresses. It took them a while, but finally they each had set their hearts on the most _perfect_ dress.

The rest of the Hogsmeade day was spent looking for candy and treats for the ball in Honeydukes and drinking butterbeers in the Three Broomsticks.

The next week flew by for the six friends. They spent all of their time working on the plans for the ball and in the end everyone was happy with the end results. The girls kept their dresses a secret from the boys up to the very night of the ball. They _almost_ saw Ginny's when she was walking up to Hermione's room to get ready and she had it in a bag. She scolded them and told they had to wait until they were done changing.

"But it's only three! The ball isn't for another four hours!" Ron yelled exasperated.

"They're girls, Ron. They're bound to take a long time." Draco said and the four boys went off to play a short game of Quidditch to kill sometime.

Hermione and Ginny each took showers and then straitened their hair. They gave each other manicures and pedicures with out magic; it always came out better without using magic. Then they got changed, which involved Ginny helping Hermione put on her dress. They then did hair and make up using Ginny's vast supply of eye shadow, lipstick, and various other things that Mrs. Weasley had gotten for Ginny. Overall, it didn't really take them four hours to get ready, but with all of the talking and laughing, they were done with a half hour to spare.

"Want to go surprise them now?" Ginny asked when Hermione had just clasped on her necklace.

"Sure. This should be funny." Hermione mused. She just knew that Draco and Colin would be caught speechless.

"Ready?" Ginny asked excitedly. Hermione nodded and opened the door. The two walked down the stairs to meet the boys. When the boys saw them, the room fell dead silent.

* * *

A/N: Sorry if the french is a bit off, I had my friends help me and they said they weren't all too sure if they got it right... Okay well read on to find out what their dresses looked like! Shaelyn

Translation

"Tu es inutile." You are hopeless.

"Non, elle était trés serviable." No, she was very helpful.


	10. Karma

Disclaimer: I own the plot, but that's all.

Summary: Post war, seventh year. The bathroom. A place where someone relieves themselves. It's also a place where gossip can be at its hight. It can destroy a person's life, but it could also bring two people together. What happens when a bet placed on the wall leads Hermione to come to Draco's aid which means her entering herself into the bet. What if their acting helps them find true love?

A/N: Well this is the last chapter, don't worry though, there's a sequal!

* * *

Chapter Ten: Karma

Hermione and Ginny stood in front of four speechless boys. The silence was so thick that Hermione and Ginny had to do everything to not laugh. "So, what do you think?" Ginny asked after a few minutes of awkward silence.

"You guys look-" Draco started, but was cut off by Colin.

"Absolutely amazing!" The girls smiled and turned around slowly showing off their gowns.

Hermione wore a dark blue corset top style dress. There was a black ribbon in the back of the corset, holding the dress together. That meant that her dress had an open back, showing off a lot of her baby soft skin. The skirt part of the dress was long and flowing, covering her plain black heals. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail, then curled and placed into a neat bun. It was topped with hair chopsticks that had crystal butterflies on the top. The chopsticks were so short that you couldn't see them holding the butterflies in her hair. For earrings she wore small sapphire studs that her mother had gotten her for her sixteenth birthday. The most amazing piece of jewelry, though, was the silver ring choker that she was wearing. It had a silver chain that created five silver chain loops connected to the base ring. Then four loops connected off of the curves from the first five loops. Small sapphires studs connected the pattern continued, until there was a single silver loop at the bottom, sort of like an upside-down pyramid, each loop.

Ginny wore a deep red, clingy dress that also hit the floor. Each strap was split and had small white crystal studs trailing along them. She too wore black high heel shoes. Her hair was down and straightened, but the tips were curled. She also wore earrings, but hers were gold and made in the chandelier style with garnets and diamonds. For her necklace, she wore a gold chain with a garnet heart pendant. On the bottom left side of the heart were two small diamonds, one on top of the other.

"You really do look great." Draco said, hugging Hermione and kissing her on top of her head. He was so blown away. To him, Hermione always looked beautiful, but tonight, she had amazed him even more. She looked like a goddess to him, with her glowing smile and her rather apparent sex appeal. He could feel his body getting hot just looking at her from a distance!

"Thanks." Hermione said humbly, smiling. Colin too was hugging Ginny.

"We should get going." Ron said, "You guys have to go open the doors." He was starting to feel a bit awkward with the two couples hugging and kissing.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Draco said dismissively and then held out his arm. "My lady."

"Why thank you." Hermione said, placing her hand on his arm. Ron made a face that looked like he was going to puke.

"Oh shut up Ron, aren't you going to parade me out too?" Blaise asked, looking hurt. If Ron didn't know better he wouldn't have known that Blaise's look was only a joke, but he sighed and held his arm out. "Yay!" Blaise squealed all girly. Ginny and Colin (who had left right before them) sped up as to not be seen with them, though they did laugh a little.

When the two couples got to the Great Hall entrance, they saw Hermione and Draco already standing at the front. Together they fought their way through and soon stood with one couple at either side.

"There you guys are!" Hermione said all smiles. "Are you ready for this?" The other five nodded and then Draco and Hermione took hold of one door handle each. The crowd fell silent as the two pulled open the doors and walked in. Everyone, but the three couples in front, was in complete awe. Even the teachers hadn't seen the complete design, so the six at the front walked right in and took seats at the head of the hall while the other's looked around.

The hall was completely transformed. It looked like a Japanese Zen garden complete with a giant coy pond in the center. There was a quiet, small waterfall in one corner behind the open bar and cherry blossom trees on every wall. The tables were set for six and set low to the ground with floor pillows to sit on. The dance floor was set around the coy pond.

After everyone moved into the room and took their seats, Draco and Hermione stood up and waited for silence. "First of all, thank you everyone for coming! I know that I, along with the Head Boy and a select other few, had so much fun thinking up of this ball and the decorations! I hope everyone enjoys the evening." Hermione announced over the crowd before turning to Draco.

"The food will come first, then the first dance, which I will share with the lovely Head Girl." Draco said, turning to Hermione and placing a kiss on her hand. She blushed and the hall started cheering and laughing.

_Pansy: III (3)_

_Lavender: XIII (13)_

_Hermione: XXVII (27)_

"So let's tuck in and eat." Draco said, and food magically appeared on everyone's plates. The food was of a wide arrangement and to those who liked its delight, there was no shortage of sushi! After the great, satisfying meal, Draco and Hermione took the first dance. It was slow, but had a nice beat and Draco gracefully guided Hermione around the dance floor, circling the pond. He spun and lifted her as the crowd cheered. Hermione and Draco though were very content, didn't even notice the other people. They just felt the other and the love that burned through both of them for each other.

The whole time, Hermione and Draco both had smiles on their faces. Every time Hermione felt Draco lift her up, she just wanted to melt into the strong hands that held her. And every time Draco spun Hermione and her dress spun out with her, he was reminded of how beautiful she was and how lucky he was to have her love him. When the song ended, the two touched back down to Earth to the roaring cheers of their schoolmates. Right before they pulled apart, Draco gave Hermione a short, but sweet kiss.

_Pansy: III (3)_

_Lavender: XIII (13)_

_Hermione: XLII (42)_

"I love you." Draco whispered in Hermione's ear, as they left the dance floor.

"I love you, too." Hermione responded, all smiles.

"You know, you really do look gorgeous tonight." Draco said, letting Hermione lead them closer to Ginny and Colin.

"Thanks." Hermione looked back at Draco and smiled. She felt really warm inside. It was a really nice feeling and when she felt his arm slip around her waist, the feelings only grew stronger. She really did love him with all of her heart. She couldn't imagine a day without him. Hermione was pulled out of her thoughts when they reached Ginny and Colin, who were talking with some of the kids in their year.

"Hey, Hermione you look so beautiful!" Rebecca, a sixth year Ravenclaw said.

"Thank you! I really like your dress, too." Hermione said. The girl was wearing a dark green halter-top, knee-length dress that really accented her green eyes.

"Thanks," The girl blushed, "I made it myself."

"That's so cool." Hermione said in admiration and then asked. "So why aren't you guys out on the dance floor?"

"No one's asked me." Rebecca said, looking at the floor.

"Well then, may I have the honor of this dance?" Draco asked, holding out his hand. The girl looked up at Hermione as if asking her if it was okay.

"Hey don't look at me, he asked you." Hermione said, reassuring her that she didn't mind. Draco smiled, then winked to Hermione and whisked the younger girl off to dance.

"You know, he's such a sweetheart." Ginny said with a sigh, watching Draco spin the girl around. "I wasn't going to dance right away, I was worried about her. She was so down on herself when no one asked her."

"Yeah I know." Hermione said, watching the pair. "That's what I love about him." After a pause Hermione came out of her trance. "Well, now that she's out dancing, you and Colin should go out there, too." Hermione said smiling.

"Okay, if you'll be fine over here, I don't want to leave you." Ginny said.

"No, no, don't worry. I'm still dizzy from all those turns." Hermione laughed, assuring her friend.

"Okay, well in that case, I'll see you in a bit!" Ginny said, and her and Colin walked to the dance floor and started to dance together.

Hermione smiled as she watched them and her smile only grew when she saw Ron and Blaise dancing. No, Blaise had not shown up in drag like he had wanted to, but he was pretty close. He was wearing dress robes like the one's Ron wore in their fourth year, only they were his size, and had more ... tasteful colors. Seeing the two happy couples made Hermione think of her and Draco. Even though it had just been two weeks since they confessed their love for each other, she knew that they both felt that they had been together for so much longer. They had even talked about their future together. It only seemed right, since they were going to leave Hogwarts soon.

They both knew that they would have to work hard to stay together, in the sense that both of them had career paths that they wanted to pursue. They both knew that they wouldn't let anything separate them, though, seeing as they went through so much to get together. They both confessed that at some point they would want to get married, but Hermione wasn't sure how far off that day would be. She just knew that she would wait a lifetime for Draco if she had to. She would do anything to stay by his side and be with him and love him for the rest of their lives.

It was amazing, this feeling of love. Hermione would have never thought that it would feel this good. She would have never imagined feeling so connected to one person. See never would have thought that one person could just brighten up her whole day and make her feel so special, so important. She sighed, content. She really was very lucky.

* * *

The Great Hall was bouncing with the loud music as everyone jumped, danced, and sang to the song Do it Like a Hippogriff by the Weird Sisters. It was about ten at night and the party was just getting started. Everyone was pleased with the candy choices from Honeydukes and the Butterbeer supplied by The Three Broomsticks. Even some of the teachers were dancing and singing, which made everyone laugh. And frightened them a bit, too.

"You guys did such a great job with planning this dance!" Terry Boot called to Hermione and Ginny who were dancing next to him.

"Thanks!" Ginny yelled, then screamed and started to laugh when Colin picked her up and spun her around form behind. Hermione laughed, and started to make her way out of the giant mob.

"I'm going to get drinks, do you want to come?" Hermione yelled over to Ginny.

"No thanks, I might come by in a bit." Ginny yelled back and then continued to dance with Colin, who was surprisingly a pretty decent dancer. Who would've guessed? Hermione just shook her head laughing and walked over to the more laid back area of the hall to grab some punch.

"You, Mr. Malfoy, and your friends did a fine job planning this ball." Madame Hooch commented as she poured herself a cup of punch.

"Thank you." Hermione said politely. There was a short pause and then the older woman spoke again.

"Do you know what career you are going to pursue, Miss Granger?" Hermione thought for a moment before responding.

"I was thinking about continuing my studies in the field of medicine." Hermione said. She had actually given her career much thought, but Medi-Witch seemed the only logical job for her.

"A fine job indeed. I've heard you are quite the healer. In fact, Madame Pomfrey said that you have quite the raw talent." Madame Hooch said, giving Hermione an all-knowing glance. Hermione blushed. Did all of the teachers know about her using the blood purity spell? "Not to worry, I understand. A person does funny things when they're in love. Well, best of luck to you and Mr. Malfoy. He's a fine young man and you are quite the witch. I'm sure you two will make it very far in life."

"Thank you." Hermione said again, this time having no idea what to say. Thankfully, Draco had just walked over and Madame Hooch excused herself.

"Hey, what were you two chatting about?" Draco asked, hugging Hermione and kissing her cheek.

"Nothing," Hermione said and then paused as if thinking of what to say, "She wished us best of luck after school, is all." Draco smiled slyly. He could tell that there was a little more to her message then that, but he wouldn't pry. Anyways, Hermione looked too damn cute when she was shy and blushing.

"You're so cute." Draco said, and Hermione blushed even more, to his delight. "Come on, what are we doing standing around at a dance? Let's go find Ginny and them and dance too." Draco said and Hermione nodded, pushing her fears of her and Draco not making it together after Hogwarts out of her mind.

"Okay, lets." Hermione smiled and followed him back out to the dance floor

"See, that's the Hermione that I know and love." Draco said, happy to see that she was having fun. It made his day to see her happy. That's all he really wanted in life to have Hermione by his side and have her always be happy. Another fast-beat song came on and the couple danced the next few songs in a row, without a care in the world.

* * *

It was a half-hour to midnight and things were starting to wind down. After the last up-beat song ended, Draco once again called attention to the front of the hall. Most of the younger students in the first three years had to go off to bed at eleven, but there were still a few just hanging on. Otherwise, all of the fourth through seventh years were still wide-awake.

"I just want to thank a few people, once again." Draco said, once the room was quite. "I would like to thank Colin Creevy for taking the pictures tonight." There were cheers from all over the room. When it quieted down, Draco continued, "Also a big thanks to Ron Weasley and Blaise Zabini for coming up with the menus. Thank you to Ginny Weasley for giving us the idea of a Japanese garden for our ball. Another big thanks to our Head Girl, Hermione Granger for helping come up with the idea of a ball. And lastly, a great big thanks to the teachers for letting us go through with it!" This brought about a long and loud round of applause.

"So did you guys have a good time?" Hermione asked and again the room was filled with a new height of noise. "Well I'm so glad you guys had a great night, because I know I did. Now I know a lot of you are too awake to go to bed, and I will allow you to stay up if you wish to. But!" Hermione had to say 'but' fast or she wouldn't be able to get the room silent for some time. "But you must stay in your Common Rooms and be in bed by three. This is just something I ask of you as a courtesy for your teachers who let us have such a great night." Ginny stifled a giggle from behind Hermione when the Great Hall was filled with a collective groan.

"I can see that finger crossed behind your back, Dean Thomas." Draco said, with a humorous fake-stern voice. The whole hall erupted in laughter at his expense. "I just have two more things I would like to say, that is, if you're done talking to this bunch." Draco said waving his hand to indicate that he meant all of the other students, while looking to Hermione. She just laughed and nodded her head to let him know that he could go on. "Well it's getting late, so just a few words from me and I'm sure you'll all be back to your Common Rooms partying.

"I would just like to say that, although I know I wasn't the kindest person for my seven years here, this last year has been the best year of my life. I just wanted to thank all of you guys for opening up to me. So in that regard, I'm going to miss the absence of Hogwarts next year, much more that I ever thought. So I thank you all for that. That and I hope those of you who aren't graduating this year continue having fun and giving Snape hell for all of us who had him and are graduating." Draco turned around and smirked at his head of house.

"Thank you oh so much, Mr. Malfoy." Snape said sarcastically, a hint of amusement in his eyes. The other students laughed and some nodded and agreed whole-heartily to carry out Draco's request.

"Okay, okay it's getting late. Just one more thing and I'll let you go." Draco said turning to Hermione. "I just want to say that you have your Head Girl to thank for me being so different from who I used to be. I owe her so much. She taught me how to think for myself and not to fear those who had always controlled me through fear. I would never be anywhere near as happy without her." Draco then switched how he referred to Hermione and started talking to her directly. "You have opened my eyes and my heart to make me feel like the luckiest man alive. You showed me what it means to be loved and how to love. I'm honored to say that I'm you're boyfriend." Draco then dropped down on one knee and Hermione, along with everyone in the room, gasped. "I only hope that I can live with you by my side forever. Hermione, will you marry me?"

"Yes!" was all Hermione could manage to say. It had taken so much of her self-control to keep herself from crying. But when he slipped the white-gold diamond ring on her hand, Hermione's self-control dissolved completely and she started to cry. Draco stood and took her into his arms.

_Pansy: III (3)_

_Lavender: XIII (13)_

_Hermione: LXI (61)_

_Winner: Hermione Granger_

"I love you." Draco whispered and buried his face into her neck.

"I love you so much Draco, never let me go." Hermione whispered back, her face hidden in his chest. Tears were still running down her face and she was very thankful that she had used a waterproof charm on her makeup.

The room was a loud buzz. Everyone was surprised and only a few of the teachers knew that Draco was going to ask her that night, and even Ginny, Ron, and Blaise had no clue. But through all of the celebration there was one cry of outrage. Pansy, who had been rather quite all night, could not stand for this. Sure, she had let it go when Hermione and Draco danced and when they acted all cute and cuddly. But this was way too much.

"How dare you take Draco from me!" Pansy said, stomping forward furiously from the crowd.

"Pansy, give it up. I love Hermione and I want to be with her. She didn't steal me from you." Draco said calmly but coldly. He had tried to be nice to her and did his best not to snap, but this was it. He couldn't stand anymore of this.

"Pansy, give it up. It's over." Hermione said, angry with the girl for ruining he special moment.

"I will never stop fighting. You have everything! You're smart, pretty, you have great friends ... everyone loves you! I had nothing but the promise of my marriage to Draco. And you had to go and take that away from me, too!"

Alas, the truth rears its ugly head. It finally made sense to Hermione, but what of this promise? Draco was engaged to her, not Pansy.

"Pansy, I've told you before, with the death of our parents, the arranged marriage is off." Draco said, rather annoyed. He had gone over this with her many times after the war had ended.

"I won't give you up Draco." Pansy said quietly, falling to the ground, crying.

"You never had me." Draco said, not a single bit of pity in his eyes, which were as cold as ice, a look that he had not used in a year. A look no one missed.

"It's her fault, that ... that wretched beast! She ruined everything! If you hadn't used that knife instead of her, she would be dead!!" The Great Hall was in shock. Most people had known or suspected Pansy, but everyone was surprised that she was stupid enough to confess it. Honestly, what caused them to think she was any smarter?

"Pansy Parkinson!" McGonagall cried and, along with Snape, ran from their seats. They forced her to her feet and marched her to another room.

"Everyone to their rooms, the ball is over." Another teacher called. Everyone groaned. They wanted to know what was going to happen to Pansy.

* * *

The last few weeks of Hogwarts passed by. Pansy was thrown from the school after startling proof convicted her of attempted murder. That was not the last of her punishment, though. No, she was stripped of her wand and forbidden to use magic ever again. She was exiled from the wizarding community and forced to live in the muggle world. The ministry had a spell placed on her that would insure that she could never use magic again. To add to her punishment, Pansy was sent to finishing school and later to a school to train women to be full-time nannies. Pansy had quite a long life ahead of her.

As for Hermione and Draco, they were no longer bothered and Lavender made amends with her house and the rest of Hogwarts. And everyone lived happily ever after.

* * *

"Hermione, are you okay? You sure are in a bloody foul mood. Is it that time of month?" Ron asked, surprised when a two-ton book collided with his head. "Ow! What did I say?"

* * *

Well ... sort of!

**THE END**

* * *

A/N: Are you sad that it's over? Well go to my profile and look for the story, Forging a Bond, that's the sequal to this story! Enjoy and review! Shaelyn**  
**


End file.
